23.2.2008

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51/22

(Case C-408/06)

(Sixth VAT Directive - Economic activity - Taxable persons - Bodies governed by public law - Milk-quota sales point - Transactions of agricultural intervention agencies and staff shops - Significant distortions of competition - Geographic market)

(2008/C 51/35)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft

Defendant: Franz Götz

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Bundesfinanzhof — Interpretation of the second and third subparagraphs of Article 4(5) of and points 7 and 12 in Annex D to Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — Allocation of reference quantities of milk invoiced without a separate statement of the VAT — Assessment of the classification as a taxable person of a body established by a Land which transfers reference quantities of milk to milk producers against prepayment

Operative part of the judgment

1.A milk-quota sales point is neither an agricultural intervention agency within the meaning of the third subparagraph of Article 4(5) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, as amended by Council Directive 2001/4/EC of 19 January 2001, read in conjunction with point 7 of Annex D thereto, nor a staff shop within the meaning of the third subparagraph of Article 4(5) of that directive, read in conjunction with point 12 of Annex D thereto;

2.The treatment of a milk-quota sales point as a non-taxable person in respect of activities or transactions in which it engages as a public authority, within the meaning of Article 4(5) of the Sixth Directive, as amended by Directive 2001/4/EC, cannot give rise to significant distortions of competition, by reason of the fact that it is not faced, in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, with private operators providing services which are in competition with the public services. As that finding applies in respect of all milk-quota sales points operating within a given delivery reference quantity transfer area, defined by the Member State concerned, that area constitutes the relevant geographic market for the purpose of establishing whether there are significant distortions of competition.

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(1) OJ C 310, 16.12.2006.