News

02.05.2023

Tax & Financial Standards New Judgments of the ECJ For April 2023

Tax & Financial Standards New Judgments of the ECJ For April 2023

Tax&Financial Standards (T&FSt) – International Financial Reporting Standards, Date or entry into force: 1.01.2023 (consolidated version), in 4 languages - Bulgarian, English, German and French

New judgments

Competition — Vertical restrictions of competition — Binding effect of the final decisions of the national competition authorities finding an infringement of the competition law rules — Application of ratione temporis и ratione materiae — Actions for damages and for a declaration of nullity for infringements of the EU competition law provisions

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Private enforcement of EU competition rules. Action for a declaration of nullity. Action for damages. Probative value of a decision of a national competition authority in an action for a declaration of nullity and an action for damages. Procedural autonomy of the Member States. Principles of effectiveness and legal certainty. Infringement of competition law found in a decision of a national competition authority, against which an action for annulment had been brought before the competent national courts but which became final after having been confirmed by those courts, must be deemed to be established by the applicant.

Proceedings concerning actions seeking a declaration of nullity of some contracts as well as compensation for the harm allegedly caused by those contracts.

Unfair terms in consumer contracts – Criteria for assessing the unfairness of a contractual term – Requirement of transparency – Group insurance contract – Permanent invalidity of the consumer – Duty to provide information – Non-disclosure of a term limiting or excluding cover against the insured risk

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

A consumer must always be afforded the opportunity, before the conclusion of a contract, to become acquainted with all the terms that the latter contract contains. An insurance contract, agreed between a bank, as the policyholder, and an insurance company. Where a term of an insurance contract relating to the exclusion or limitation of cover against the insured risk, with which the consumer concerned could not have become acquainted prior to the conclusion of that contract, is found to be unfair by the national court, that court is required to exclude the application of that term.

Proceedings between an insurance company and LP, a consumer, concerning the refusal by the former to make loan repayments further to the permanent invalidity of the latter, as an insured person, on account of the alleged nullity or inapplicability of the insurance contract.

Value added tax – Recharging points for electric vehicles – Provision of devices for recharging electric vehicles, supply of the necessary electricity, and provision of technical support and IT services – Classification as a ‘supply of goods’ or a ‘supply of services’ – Concept of ‘supply of goods’ and a ‘supply of services’

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Taxation. A single complex supply which encompasses:

– access to recharging devices for electric vehicles;

– the supply of electricity, within duly adjusted parameters, to the batteries of that vehicle;

– the necessary technical support for the users concerned; and

– the provision of IT applications enabling the user concerned to reserve a connector, view his or her transaction history, and purchase credits which are then accumulated in an e-wallet and used to pay for recharging sessions constitutes a ‘supply of goods’.

Proceedings concerning an application for annulment of a tax ruling.

Judicial cooperation in civil matters — European Account Preservation Order procedure — Conditions for issuing a preservation order — Judgment ordering a party to make a penalty payment for breach of a prohibitory order — Concepts of ‘judgment’ and ‘judgment requiring the debtor to pay the creditor’s claim’

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Conditions for issuing a European Account Preservation Order depending on whether the creditor has or has not already obtained an instrument requiring the debtor to pay the claim in the Member State of origin. A judgment that orders a debtor to make a penalty payment in the event of a future breach of a prohibitory order and that therefore does not definitively set the amount of that penalty payment.

Concepts of ‘judgment’ and ‘judgment requiring the debtor to pay the creditor’s claim’

Proceedings, seeking enforcement by means of a European Account Preservation Order of a judgment ordering penalty payments in the event of breach of the prohibitory order.

 

March

 

Value added tax — Municipality which organises the installation of renewable energy on its territory for its residents who own immovable property and who have expressed the wish to be equipped with renewable energy systems — Their contribution amounting to 25% of the subsidisable costs, without being able to exceed a maximum value agreed between the municipality and the interested property owner — Municipalities not subject to tax for the activities or transactions carried out as public authorities — Concepts of „economic activity“ and „transaction for consideration“

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Services for consideration. The fact that a municipality supplies and installs, through an undertaking, RES for its residents who own their property and who have expressed their wish to be equipped with RES, where such an activity is not intended to obtain income on a continuing basis and gives rise, on the part of those residents, the balance being financed by public funds, does not constitute a supply of goods and services subject to VAT.. Transactions performed in the exercise of public authority. No significant distortions of competition.

Concepts of „economic activity“ and „transaction for consideration“.

Proceedings, concerning an advance tax ruling addressed to a municipality in respect of its liability to pay value added tax (VAT) concerning activities consisting, for that municipality, of entering into a contract with some of its inhabitants for the installation of renewable energy systems (‘RES’) on their immovable property, in return for financial consideration from those inhabitants.

Value added tax – Supply of services for consideration – Municipality which arranges for asbestos removal for the benefit of its residents who own immovable property and who have expressed the wish for that – Municipalities not subject to tax for the activities or transactions carried out as public authorities - Concept of ‘economic activity’ and ‘supply of services to be considered to be ‘for consideration’

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Where a municipality has arranged by means of an undertaking to carry out transactions involving asbestos removal and collection of asbestos products and waste, for the benefit of its residents who own immovable property and who have expressed interest in that regard, where such an activity is not intended to obtain income on a continuing basis and does not give rise, on the part of those residents, to any payment, since those transactions are financed by public funds, does not constitute a supply of services subject to VAT. No significant distortions of competition.

Proceedings concerning an advance tax ruling addressed to a municipality in respect of its liability to pay value added tax on asbestos removal activities which it seeks to carry out and the right to deduct the input VAT incurred on those transactions.

Insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles – Direct right of action – Scope – Determination of the amount of compensation – Hypothetical costs – Possibility of making the payment of compensation subject to certain conditions – Sale of the vehicle

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Scope of the direct right of action available to an injured party seeking compensation, against an insurance undertaking, for all damage caused by a motor vehicle. National legislation which, in the event of a direct action, by the person whose vehicle has suffered damage as a result of a road traffic accident, against the insurer of the person responsible for that accident, provides that the sole means of obtaining redress.

Six proceedings between motor vehicle owners and the undertakings insuring the civil liability of the persons responsible for the damage caused to those vehicles, regarding a claim for compensation for that damage.

Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Measures relating to the law on succession — Declaration concerning the waiver of a succession made by an heir before the court of the Member State of his or her habitual residence — Subsequent registration of that declaration, at the request of another heir, in the register of another Member State

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Law of succession. Regulation No. 650/2012 allows, after an heir has already had registered with a court of the Member State in which he or she is habitually resident his or her declaration of acceptance or of waiver of the succession of a deceased person whose habitual residence was, at the time of his or her death, in another Member State, another heir from applying for a subsequent registration of that declaration with the court of the latter Member State having jurisdiction.

Proceedings brought by M. Ya. M., as an heir, regarding an application to register a declaration concerning the waiver of a succession, made by another heir before a court of the Member State of that heir’s habitual residence, in the register of another Member State.

 

February

 

Implementing power of the Council of the European Union — Common system of value added tax — Taxable person, acting in his or her own name but on behalf of another person – Provider of services by electronic means

Key aspects of the decision in the economic range:

Taxable person, acting in his or her own name but on behalf of another person, who takes part in a supply of services. Services supplied electronically via a telecommunications network, an interface or a porta. Presumptions relating to the identification of the supplier of services. Whether or not the taxable person can rebut those presumptions.

Proceedings concerning value added tax (VAT) assessments.