Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 21 February 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Brussel (Belgium)) — RVS Levensverzekeringen NV v Belgische Staat

(Case C-243/11) (1)

(Direct life assurance - Annual tax on assurance transactions - Directive 2002/83/EC - Articles 1(1)(g) and 50 - Definition of ‘Member State of the commitment’ - Assurance undertaking established in the Netherlands - Policyholder having taken out an assurance contract in the Netherlands and transferred his habitual residence to Belgium after the contract was concluded - Freedom to provide services)

2013/C 114/12

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Brussel

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: RVS Levensverzekeringen NV

Respondent: Belgische Staat

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Brussel — Interpretation of Article 50 of Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assurance (OJ 2002 L 345, p. 1) — National rule subjecting insurance transactions to an annual tax when the risk is situated in Belgium, either because the natural person insured is habitually resident there or because the legal person insured is established there — Assurance undertaking established in the Netherlands, without any presence in Belgium except for one of its policyholders, who moved to Belgium after the contract was concluded — Place of taxation — Article 49 and Article 56 TFEU — Restrictions

Operative part of the judgment

Article 50 of Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assurance must be interpreted as not precluding a Member State from collecting an indirect tax on life assurance premiums paid by policyholders who are natural persons having their habitual residence in that Member State, when the assurance contracts concerned were taken out in another Member State in which those policyholders had their habitual residence on the date the contracts were taken out.

(1)  OJ C 252, 27.8.2011.