Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 29 March 2012 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d’appel, Mons — Belgium) — Belgian State v BLM SA

(Case C-436/10) (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive - Article 6(2), first paragraph, point (a), and Article 13(B)(b) - Right of deduction - Business assets which belong to a taxable person which is a legal person and which are placed at the disposal of its staff for their private use)

2012/C 151/10

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Cour d’appel, Mons

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Belgian State — SPF Finances

Defendant: BLM SA

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Cour d’appel de Mons — Interpretation of point (a) of the first paragraph of Articles 6(2) and Article 13B(b) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1997 L 145, p. 1) — Capital asset made available and given over in part for private use by the director of a legal person and his family, where the input tax on that asset is deductible — Exclusion of the right to deduct tax

Operative part of the judgment

Point (a) of the first paragraph of Articles 6(2) and Article 13(B)(b) of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, as amended by Council Directive 95/7/EC of 10 April 1995, must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which — despite the fact that the characteristics of the leasing or the letting of immovable property for the purposes of Article 13(B)(b) are not present — treats as a supply of services exempt from VAT under that provision the private use, by the staff of a taxable person which is a legal person, of part of a building constructed or owned by virtue of a right in rem in immovable property, held by that taxable person, where the input tax on that business asset is deductible;

It is for the referring court to determine whether, in a situation such as that at issue in the case before it, a finding can be made that there is a letting of immoveable property for the purposes of Article 13(B)(b) of the Sixth Directive.

(1)  OJ C 328, 4.12.2010.