Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 19 April 2012 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale Ordinario di Cosenza (Italy)) — CCIAA di Cosenza v Grillo Star Srl, in liquidation

(Case C-443/09) (1)

(Directive 2008/7/EC - Indirect taxes on the raising of capital - Articles 5(1)(c) and 6(1)(e) - Scope - Annual duty paid to local chambers of commerce, industry, crafts and agriculture)

2012/C 165/02

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Tribunale Ordinario di Cosenza

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: CCIAA di Cosenza

Defendant: Grillo Star Srl, in liquidation

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunale Ordinario di Cosenza — Interpretation of Articles 5(1)(c) and 6(1)(e) of Council Directive 2008/7/EC of 12 February 2008 concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital — Annual duty payable on account of registration in the register of companies maintained by the local chambers of commerce — Annual duty determined on a flat-rate basis — Concept of ‘duties in the form of fees or dues’

Operative part of the judgment

Article 5(1)(c) of Council Directive 2008/7/EC of 12 February 2008 concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital must be interpreted as not precluding a duty, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, payable annually by all undertakings on account of their registration in the register of undertakings, even if that registration has constituent effect for capital companies and even if the duty is also payable by those companies for the period during which they only carry on activities preparatory to operating a business.

(1)  OJ C 51, 27.2.2010.