Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax – Option for Member States to maintain exemptions with refund of the tax paid at the preceding stage

(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 28(2)(a))

Summary

The fact that specific goods are counted as a single supply, including both a principal item which is by virtue of a Member State’s legislation subject to an exemption with refund of the tax paid within the meaning of Article 28(2)(a) of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, as amended by Directive 92/77 supplementing the common system of value added tax and amending Directive 77/388 (approximation of value added tax rates), and items which that legislation excludes from the scope of that exemption, does not prevent the Member State concerned from levying value added tax at the standard rate on the supply of those excluded items.

While it follows, admittedly, from the case-law on the taxation of single supplies that such a supply is, as a rule, subject to a single rate of value added tax, the case‑law does not preclude some elements of that supply from being taxed separately where only such taxation complies with the conditions imposed by Article 28(2)(a) of the Sixth Directive on the application of exemptions with refund of the tax paid.

(see paras 24, 27, operative part)