Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État (France), acting in a judicial capacity, by order of that court of 18 May 2005 in Société thermale d'Eugénie-Les-Bains v Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie

(Case C-277/05)

(2005/C 229/15)

Language of the case: French

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by order of the Conseil d'Etat (France), acting in a judicial capacity, of 18 May 2005, received at the Court Registry on 5 July 2005, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between Société thermale d'Eugénie-Les-Bains and Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie on the following question:

Must sums paid as deposits in the context of sales contracts in relation to the provision of services which are subject to value added tax be regarded, where the purchaser makes use of the cancellation option available to him and those sums are retained by the vendor, as remuneration for the reservation service and, as such, subject to value added tax, or as cancellation payments made to compensate for the loss suffered as a result of the default of the customer, which have no direct connection with any service provided for consideration and, as such, are not subject to value added tax?