In four pending cases, the Court of Justice of the European Union will bring some clarification to the scope of the VAT exemption in Article 132 (1) (f) of Directive 2006/112/EC (The “VAT Directive”), commonly referred to as the “cost sharing associations exemption”. Opinions have already been delivered by the Advocate General in cases C-274/15 Commission vs Luxembourg, C-326/16 Aviva and C-605/15 DNB Banka. An Opinion has also been delivered by Advocate General Wathelet in Case C-615/15 European Commission v Germany.
Due to the significance of this VAT exemption for many economic operators, the CFE considers that it is important to make a few technical comments on the position adopted by Advocate General Juliane Kokott in the Case C‑605/15 Minister Finansów v. Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie S.A. w Warszawie1 (the “Opinion”).