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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  














VAT - From: 1985 To: 1989

This page lists 15 cases, and was prepared on 02 April 2018.

 
Rompelman v Minister van Financien (Judgment) C-268/83; [1985] ECR I-655
14 Feb 1985
ECJ

European, VAT, Land
A trader who decided to acquire property for letting could claim repayment of VAT on the cost of a right to acquire a building which had not yet been constructed, let alone tenanted.
1 Cites

1 Citers


 
Regina v Commissioners of Customs and Excise ex parte Strangewood [1987] STC 502
1987


VAT
The court considered goods for export and their status as zero rated.
1 Citers



 
 Re T H Knitwear (Wholesale) Ltd; CA 1988 - [1988] Ch 275

 
 Apple and Pear Development Council v Commissioners of Customs and Excise; ECJ 8-Mar-1988 - C-102/86; R-102/86; [1988] EUECJ R-102/86; [1988] STC 221
 
Commission v United Kingdom C-416/85; [1990] 2 QB 130; [1988] EUECJ C-416/85; [1988] STC 456
21 Jun 1988
ECJ
Advocate General Darmon
European, VAT
Europa An action by the Commission pursuant to Article 169 of the Treaty against a Member State for failure to fulfil its obligations, the bringing of which is a matter for the Commission in its entire discretion, is objective in nature. In the context of the balance of powers between the institutions laid down in the Treaty, it is not for the Court to consider what objectives are pursued in such an action. Its role is to decide whether or not the Member State in question has failed to fulfil its obligations as alleged.
The identification of "cleary defined social reasons" for which certain reduced rates and exemptions from value-added tax may be retained on a transitional basis pursuant to the last indent of Article 17 of the Second Directive and Article 28 (2) of the Sixth Directive is in principle a matter of political choice for the Member States and can be the subject-matter of supervision at the Community level only in so far as, by distorting that concept, it leads to measures which because of their effects and their true objectives lie outside its scope. Since, under the general scheme of value-added tax, the final consumer is the person who acquires goods or services for personal use, as opposed to an economic activity, and thus bears the tax, the second condition laid down in those provisions for the retention of certain reduced rates and exemptions, that is to say that they must be "for the benefit of the final consumer" must in the light of the social purpose of Article 17 be understood as meaning that the beneficiary must not use exempted goods or services in the course of an economic activity. The provision of goods or services at a stage higher in the production or distribution chain which is nevertheless sufficiently close to the consumer to be of advantage to him must also be considered to be for the benefit of the final consumer as so defined.
"With regard to buildings intended for housing, the Commission's arguments cannot be upheld. The measures adopted by the United Kingdom to implement its social policy in housing matters, that is to say, facilitating home ownership for the whole population, fall within the purview of 'social reasons' for the purposes of the last indent of article 17 of the Second Directive."
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]

 
 W J R Mol v Inspecteur Der Invoerrechten En Accijnzen; ECJ 5-Jul-1988 - R-269/86; [1988] EUECJ R-269/86
 
Vereniging Happy Family Rustenburgerstraat v Inspecteur Der Omzetbelasting R-289/86; [1988] EUECJ R-289/86
5 Jul 1988
ECJ

European, VAT
ECJ Tax provisions - Harmonization of laws - Turnover tax - Common system of value-added tax - Tax on the supply of goods within the territory of a Member State - Application to unlawful traffic in narcotic drugs - Not permissible - Criminal sanctions for offences - Powers of the Member States - Policy of selective prosecution with regard to supplies of hemp-based drugs - Circumstance not justifying the imposition of tax.
Council Directive 77/388 2
[ Bailii ]
 
Weissgerber v Finanzamt Neustadt/Weinstrasse (Judgment) C-207/87
14 Jul 1988
ECJ

European, VAT
Europa In the absence of implementation of the Sixth Council Directive (77/388/EEC) on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, a credit negotiator may rely on the tax exemption provision contained in Article 13B(d)(1) of the directive in respect of transactions carried out between 1 January 1978 and 30 June 1978 and as from 1 January 1979 if he did not pass that tax on to the person receiving his services so as to entitle that person to deduct the input tax. Such a right to deduct could arise only if the tax was passed on in accordance with the formalities prescribed by the directive in that regard and if the recipient of the services is himself subject to VAT.

 
Jeunehomme and Others v Belgian State; Jorion v Belgium State C-123/87; [1988] ECR 4517
14 Jul 1988
ECJ

European, VAT
It was legitimate for Belgium to require, as a condition of a VAT deduction, that the invoice on the sale of a motor car should contain a good deal of information enabling the car to be identified and thereby to prevent substitution and fraud. But there was no requirement that the information had to be provided in any particular form and the court noted, that: "As regards invoices which are irregular as to form, the deduction is allowed when the genuine nature of the transaction is not open to doubt."
1 Citers


 
Naturally Yours Cosmetics Ltd v Commissioners of Customs and Excise C-230/87; [1988] ECR 6365
23 Nov 1988
ECJ

European, VAT
A cosmetics wholesaler offered to a beauty consultant, acting as retailer, a pot of rejuvenating cream at the special price of £1.50. The consultant was to give the cream to a chosen retail customer (referred to as a hostess) as a reward for the hostess arranging a sales party, and the special price was available only if the sales party was actually held. The issue was as to the quantification of the consideration received by the wholesaler from the consultant. Held: "In the present case, the parties to the contract have reduced the wholesale price of the pot of cream [£10.14] by a specific amount [£8.64] in exchange for the supply of a service by the beauty consultant which consists in procuring hostesses to arrange sales parties by offering them the pots of cream as gifts. In those circumstances, it is possible to ascertain the monetary value which the two parties to the contract attributed to that service; that value must be considered to be the difference [£8.64] between the price actually paid [£1.50] and the normal wholesale price [£10.14]."
1 Citers


 
Gandhi Tandoori Restaurant v Customs and Excise Commissioners [1989] VATTR 39
1989
VDT

VAT
The court considered the use of R v Ghosh when considering whether dishonesty had been established under section 13 of the 1983 Act, saying: "It is to be observed that in section 13(1) the first requirement for liability to a penalty is that the taxpayer shall have done, or refrained from doing, something 'for the purpose of evading tax'. But that alone is not sufficient to impose liability, something else is necessary, namely, his conduct must involve 'dishonesty'. It seems to us clear that in such a context, where a person has, ex hypothesi, done, or omitted to do, something with the intention of evading tax, then by adding that that conduct must involve dishonesty before the penalty is to attach, Parliament must have intended to add a further mental element in addition to the mental element of intending to evade tax. We think that that element can only be that when he did, or omitted to do, the act with the intention of evading tax, he knew that according to the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people that what he was doing would be regarded as dishonest. In other words we think that it is evident from the wording of section 13(1) taken as a whole that the word 'dishonesty' is to bear the meaning that was given to it, where it appears in the Theft Act 1968, by the Court of Appeal (see R v Ghosh). In the majority of cases brought under this section the course of conduct adopted by the taxpayer will be such that the necessary mental element of dishonesty can be readily inferred."
Value Added Tax Act 1983 13(1)
1 Cites

1 Citers



 
 Customs and Excise Commissioners v Diner's Club Ltd; CA 1989 - [1989] STC 407
 
Stichting Uitvoering Financiele Acties v Staatssecretaris Van Financien (Judgment) C-348/87; [1989] ECR 1737
15 Jun 1989
ECJ

European, VAT
For VAT the general rule is that a turnover tax is levied on all services supplied for consideration by a taxable person. Exemptions are to be strictly construed in the VAT legislation.
1 Citers


 
Skatteministeriet v Henriksen C-173/88; [1990] STC 768; [1989] ECR 2763
13 Jul 1989
ECJ

European, VAT
Europa Article 13B(b ) of the Sixth Directive ( 77/388 ) on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes must be interpreted as meaning that the phrase "premises and sites for parking vehicles", which introduces an exception to the exemption laid down in that provision in regard to the leasing or letting of immovable property, covers the letting of all places designed to be used for parking vehicles, including closed garages, but that such lettings cannot be excluded from the exemption if they are closely linked to lettings of immovable property for another purpose which are themselves exempt from value-added tax. Member States may not exempt from value-added tax lettings of premises and sites for parking which are not covered by the exemption.
1 Citers


 
Steptoe v Revenue and Customs [1989] UKVAT V4283
9 Nov 1989
VDT

VAT

[ Bailii ]
 
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