CJEU – Recent Developments in Value Added Tax 2018

S. 131CJEU Case Law on Taxable Persons in 2018

Karoline Spies

1. S. 132Case Law on Taxable Persons (Art. 9–13 of the VAT Directive)

In 2018, the CJEU only dealt with the personal scope of the VAT Directive (Arts. 9–13 of the VAT Directive) in a small number of cases. In this paper two of these cases are discussed: The Ryanair case deals with the interpretation of Art. 9 in connection with Art. 169 of the VAT Directive on the right to input VAT deduction in a scenario of abortive investments of a holding company. The Nagyszénás Településszolgáltatási Nonprofit Kft (NTN) case deals with the special rules for public bodies in Art. 13 of the VAT Directive in a scenario where activities of public interest are outsourced to a legal entity established under private law which is wholly-owned by a regional body.

2. Ryanair Ltd, C-249/17

2.1. Legal basis

According to Art. 9 of the VAT Directive any person who, independently, carries out in any place any economic activity, whatever the purpose or results of that activity is a taxable person. Art. 9 third sentence of the VAT Directive clarifies that the exploitation of tangible or intangible property for the purposes of obtaining income therefrom on a continuin...