29.9.2012

Official Journal of the European Union

C 295/15

(Case C-377/11) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Sixth VAT Directive - Articles 11A(1)(a), 17(5) and 19(1) - Organisation of games of bingo - Legal obligation to use part of the card price to pay winnings to players - Calculation of the basis of assessment)

2012/C 295/25

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: International Bingo Technology SA

Defendant: Tribunal Económico-Administrativo Regional de Cataluña (TEARC)

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña — Interpretation of Article 11A(1)(a) 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 (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — Taxable amount — Organisation of games of bingo — Sale of tickets to players — Use of part of the sums thus collected to pay out winnings to players

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 11A(1)(a) 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 98/80/EC of 12 October 1998, must be interpreted as meaning that, in the case of the sale of bingo cards such as those at issue in the main proceedings, the taxable amount for VAT does not include the portion of the card price fixed in advance by legislation and intended to be used to pay winnings to players;

2.Articles 17(5) and 19(1) of Sixth Directive 77/388, as amended by Directive 98/80, must be interpreted as meaning that the Member States may not provide that, for the purposes of calculating the deductible proportion of VAT, the portion, fixed in advance by legislation, of the bingo card price which must be returned to players as winnings is to be regarded as forming part of the turnover which must be included in the denominator of the fraction referred to in Article 19(1).

(<span class="note">1</span>) OJ C 290, 1.10.2011.