Article 17 Directive 2006/112/EC

Supply of goods

Title IV · Taxable transactions › Chapter 1 · Supply of goods

Text of Article 17

1.The transfer by a taxable person of goods forming part of his business assets to another Member State shall be treated as a supply of goods for consideration.

‘Transfer to another Member State’ shall mean the dispatch or transport of movable tangible property by or on behalf of the taxable person, for the purposes of his business, to a destination outside the territory of the Member State in which the property is located, but within the Community.

2.The dispatch or transport of goods for the purposes of any of the following transactions shall not be regarded as a transfer to another Member State:

(a)the supply of the goods by the taxable person within the territory of the Member State in which the dispatch or transport ends, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 33;

(b)the supply of the goods, for installation or assembly by or on behalf of the supplier, by the taxable person within the territory of the Member State in which dispatch or transport of the goods ends, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 36;

(c)the supply of the goods by the taxable person on board a ship, an aircraft or a train in the course of a passenger transport operation, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 37;

(d)the supply of gas through a natural gas system situated within the territory of the Community or any network connected to such a system, the supply of electricity or the supply of heat or cooling energy through heating or cooling networks, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Articles 38 and 39;

(e)the supply of the goods by the taxable person within the territory of the Member State, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Articles 138, 146, 147, 148, 151 or 152;

(f)the supply of a service performed for the taxable person and consisting in valuations of, or work on, the goods in question physically carried out within the territory of the Member State in which dispatch or transport of the goods ends, provided that the goods, after being valued or worked upon, are returned to that taxable person in the Member State from which they were initially dispatched or transported;

(g)the temporary use of the goods within the territory of the Member State in which dispatch or transport of the goods ends, for the purposes of the supply of services by the taxable person established within the Member State in which dispatch or transport of the goods began;

(h)the temporary use of the goods, for a period not exceeding twenty-four months, within the territory of another Member State, in which the importation of the same goods from a third country with a view to their temporary use would be covered by the arrangements for temporary importation with full exemption from import duties.

3.If one of the conditions governing eligibility under paragraph 2 is no longer met, the goods shall be regarded as having been transferred to another Member State. In such cases, the transfer shall be deemed to take place at the time when that condition ceases to be met.

Consolidated version on EUR-Lex (CELEX 02006L0112-20250414). © European Union. Only the Official Journal is authentic.

Case law on Article 17: 11 cases

Judgments, orders and Advocate General opinions of the Court of Justice and the General Court that cite Article 17 of Directive 2006/112/EC, most recent first.

C-9/20 Grundstücksgemeinschaft Kollaustraße 136 Judgment · 10 February 2022 · Germany · cites Article 17(1)
C-242/19 CHEP Equipment Pooling Judgment · 11 June 2020 · Romania · cites Article 17(1), (2), (2)(g)
C-531/17 Vetsch Int. Transporte Judgment · 14 February 2019 · Austria · cites Article 17(1)
C-419/14 WebMindLicenses Opinion · 16 September 2015 · Hungary · cites Article 17(3)
C-654/13 Delphi Hungary Autóalkatrész Gyártó Order · 17 July 2014 · Hungary
C-606/12 Dresser-Rand Judgment · 6 March 2014 · Italy · cites Article 17(1), (2), (2)(f)
C-108/11 Commission v Ireland Judgment · 14 March 2013 · Ireland
C-392/09 Uszodaépítő Judgment · 30 September 2010 · Hungary
C-368/09 Pannon Gép Centrum Judgment · 15 July 2010 · Hungary
C-582/08 Commission v United Kingdom Opinion · 20 May 2010 · United Kingdom · cites Article 17(3)
C-95/07 Ecotrade Opinion · 13 March 2008 · Italy · cites Article 17(1), (2)

VAT Committee guidelines on Article 17: 7

Not binding. Positions agreed in the VAT Committee set up under Article 398 of Directive 2006/112/EC and published by the Commission.

Meeting 113 · 3 June 2019 · document 3.1. Article 17 – call-off stock – how to handle small losses – transfer of goods
Meeting 113 · 3 June 2019 · document 3.1. Article 17 – exemption of an intra-Community supply of goods – combined with the optional reverse charge provided for in Article 194
Meeting 104 · 2015-06-04-05 · document 4.1. Article 17 – transfer of goods – clarifications on the concept of fixed establishment
Meeting 101 · 20 October 2014 · document 4.5 Article 17(1) – transfer of goods resulting in intra-EU acquisitions – exceptions – gas transportwed within the EU without any transfer of ownership – conditions
Meeting 101 · 20 October 2014 · document 4.5 Article 17(2)(d) – transfer of goods resulting in intra-EU acquisitions – exceptions – gas transportwed within the EU without any transfer of ownership – conditions
Meeting 048 · 1996-06-25 1996-07-08 · document II.2.5.2 Article 28a(5)(b), fifth indent* – movable tangible property – contract work transactions – simplifications
Meeting 041 · 1994-02-28 1994-03-01 · document a) Article 28a(5)(b), second subparagraph, fifth indent* – defective goods refused by purchaser – goods returned or remaining – possible transfer

Commission explanatory notes on Article 17

Not binding. Guidance published by the Commission (DG TAXUD).

Explanatory Notes on the 2020 quick fixes

Call-off stock, chain transactions, the VAT number as a substantive condition and proof of intra-Community transport

2.5.3 What is the relation between Articles 17 and 17a VD? (p. 27) Article 17(1) VD defines the concept of ‘transfer to another Member State’ and assimilates this to a supply of goods (which is to be followed by a deemed intra- Community acquisition of goods on the basis of Article 21 VD). Article 17(2) VD enumerates a number of exceptions under which the transport of goods from one M
6.1 VAT Directive (hereabove referred to as “VD”) (p. 80) ‘Article 17a 1. The transfer by a taxable person of goods forming part of his business assets to another Member State under call-off stock arrangements shall not be treated as a supply of goods for consideration. 2. For the purposes of this Article, call-off stock arrangements shall be deemed to exist where the followi
2.3.6 Goods sent to another Member State (p. 20) Situation:  Business A, established in Member State 1 (and not in Member State 2), transports goods in January under a call-off stock arrangement to Member State 2. These goods are intended for business B which is identified (established or otherwise) in Member State 2.  In September of the same year, A takes back (p
2.5.1 Guidelines agreed by the VAT Committee (p. 26) Guidelines resulting from the 113th meeting of the VAT Committee of 3 June 2019 3. NEW LEGISLATION – MATTERS CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RECENTLY ADOPTED EU VAT PROVISIONS 3.1 Origin: Commission References: Articles 17a, 36a, 138(1) and (1a), 243(3) and 262(2) of the VAT Directive Articles 45a and 54a of the VAT I
2.3.4 Return of the goods (p. 18) Situation:  Business A, established in Member State 1 (and not in Member State 2), transports goods in January under a call-off stock arrangement to Member State 2. These goods are intended for business B which is identified (established or otherwise) in Member State 2.  In September of the same year, it is agreed th
2.3.5 Exceeding of the period of 12 months (p. 19) Situation:  Business A, established in Member State 1 (and not in Member State 2), transports goods on 5 January of year N under a call-off stock arrangement to Member State 2. The goods arrive in Member State 2 on that same date. These goods are intended for business B which is identified (established or otherwise) i
2.3.7 Goods exported (p. 23) Situation:  Business A, established in Member State 1 (and not in Member State 2), transports goods in January under a call-off stock arrangement to Member State 2. These goods are intended for business B which is identified (established or otherwise) in Member State 2.  In September of the same year, A, regarding th
2.3.8 Destruction or loss of the goods (p. 24) Situation:  Business A, established in Member State 1 (and not in Member State 2), transports goods in January under a call-off stock arrangement to Member State 2. These goods are intended for business B which is identified (established or otherwise) in Member State 2.  In September of the same year, and before B to
2.4 Call-off stock simplification and national VAT rules (p. 25) The simplification measure for the call-off stock arrangements laid down in Article 17a VD enters into force as from 1 January 2020 and is to be applied by all Member States. This implies that all other possible national arrangements regarding call- off stock and which deviate from Articles 17 and 17a VD are not in con
2.5.13 Is partial substitution possible? (p. 32) Partial substitution, whereby an intended acquirer is replaced by another one in the same Member State for a part of the goods which were under the initial call-off stock agreement, is indeed possible. The same conditions have to be fulfilled and, in this context, the contract should also be concluded before or at the

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