argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: offshore drilling rings - sale - VAT

In case C-291/18, the E.U. Court of Justice was asked to provide clarifications in the dispute between a company, based in Romania, and the tax authorities of the aforementioned Member State, regarding the refusal to exempt the value tax added (VAT) concerning the sale by the company in question of three offshore drilling rigs to some Maltese companies. For the sale of these platforms, the company had issued invoices, applying the VAT exemption regime provided for in Article 148, letter c) of the VAT Directive and Article 143, paragraph 1, letter h) of the Tax Code. The aforementioned company continued to use these platforms in the Black Sea during the year 2008, as lessee. Self-propelled offshore drilling platforms are mobile units consisting of a floating pontoon, equipped with several sliding legs during the towing operation up to the drilling site. When they are in a drilling position, they are placed several dozen meters below sea level so that the extended legs rest on the sea floor, in order to constitute a static platform. Due to these characteristics, the EU Court of Justice has held that the platforms are not mainly used for navigation purposes, therefore they cannot be classified as “navigation” works; rather, they have the main function of exploiting, in position property, hydrocarbon deposits in the tides therefore, any sale, does not enjoy the VAT exemption.