VATcodexEU VAT case law · Court of Justice and General Court

Article 176 Directive 2006/112/EC

Restrictions on the right of deduction

Title X · Deductions › Chapter 3 · Restrictions on the right of deduction

Open in the compendium45 cases ↓

Before 1 January 2007: Article 17 of Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC, according to the correlation table in Annex XII. The wording is not identical.

Text of Article 176

The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, shall determine the expenditure in respect of which VAT shall not be deductible. VAT shall in no circumstances be deductible in respect of expenditure which is not strictly business expenditure, such as that on luxuries, amusements or entertainment.

Pending the entry into force of the provisions referred to in the first paragraph, Member States may retain all the exclusions provided for under their national laws at 1 January 1979 or, in the case of the Member States which acceded to the Community after that date, on the date of their accession.

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

Case law on Article 176: 45 cases

Judgments, orders and Advocate General opinions of the Court of Justice and the General Court that cite Article 176 of Directive 2006/112/EC, most recent first.

  1. C-515/24 Randstad España Judgment · 12 March 2026 · Spain · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  2. C-164/24 Cityland Judgment · 3 April 2025 · Bulgaria
  3. C-459/21 The Navigator Company and Navigator Pulp Figueira Order · 9 December 2022 · Portugal
  4. C-188/21 Megatherm-Csillaghegy Order · 3 June 2022 · Hungary
  5. C-334/20 Amper Metal Judgment · 25 November 2021 · Hungary
  6. C-837/19 Super Bock Bebidas Order · 17 September 2020 · Portugal
  7. C-630/19 PAGE International Order · 26 February 2020 · Portugal
  8. C-225/18 Grupa Lotos Judgment · 2 May 2019 · Poland · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  9. C-552/16 Wind Inovation 1 Judgment · 9 November 2017 · Bulgaria
  10. C-132/16 Iberdrola Inmobiliaria Real Estate Investments Judgment · 14 September 2017 · Bulgaria
  11. C-124/12 AES-3C Maritza East 1 Judgment · 18 July 2013 · Bulgaria
  12. C-160/11 Bawaria Motors Judgment · 19 July 2012 · Poland
  13. C-594/10 van Laarhoven Judgment · 16 February 2012 · Netherlands · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  14. C-118/11 Eon Aset Menidjmunt Judgment · 16 February 2012 · Bulgaria
  15. C-438/09 Dankowski Judgment · 22 December 2010 · Poland · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  16. C-540/09 Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Opinion · 16 December 2010 · Sweden · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  17. C-395/09 Oasis East Judgment · 30 September 2010 · Poland · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  18. C-49/09 Commission v Poland Opinion · 10 June 2010 · Poland · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  19. C-538/08 X Holding and Oracle Nederland Judgment · 15 April 2010 · Netherlands · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  20. C-581/08 EMI Group Opinion · 15 April 2010 · United Kingdom · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  21. C-460/07 Puffer Judgment · 23 April 2009 · Austria · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  22. C-74/08 PARAT Automotive Cabrio Judgment · 23 April 2009 · Hungary · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  23. C-414/07 Magoora Judgment · 22 December 2008 · Poland · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  24. C-515/07 Vereniging Noordelijke Land- en Tuinbouw Organisatie Opinion · 22 December 2008 · Netherlands · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  25. C-371/07 Danfoss and AstraZeneca Judgment · 11 December 2008 · Denmark · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  26. C-95/07 Ecotrade Judgment · 8 May 2008 · Italy · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  27. C-368/06 Cedilac Opinion · 18 September 2007 · France · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  28. C-228/05 Stradasfalti Judgment · 14 September 2006 · Italy · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  29. C-184/04 Uudenkaupungin kaupunki Judgment · 30 March 2006 · Finland · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  30. C-280/04 Jyske Finans Judgment · 8 December 2005 · Denmark · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  31. C-434/03 Charles and Charles-Tijmens Judgment · 14 July 2005 · Netherlands · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  32. C-25/03 HE Judgment · 21 April 2005 · Germany · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  33. C-155/01 Cookies World Judgment · 11 September 2003 · Austria · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  34. C-17/01 Sudholz Opinion · 24 October 2002 · Germany · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  35. C-409/99 Metropol and Stadler Judgment · 8 January 2002 · Austria · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  36. C-345/99 Commission v France Judgment · 14 June 2001 · France · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  37. C-40/00 Commission v France Judgment · 14 June 2001 · France · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  38. C-338/98 Commission v Netherlands Opinion · 31 May 2001 · Netherlands · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  39. C-177/99 Ampafrance and Sanofi Judgment · 19 September 2000 · France · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  40. C-36/99 Idéal Tourisme Opinion · 11 May 2000 · Belgium · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  41. C-305/97 Royscot and Others Judgment · 5 October 1999 · United Kingdom · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  42. C-43/96 Commission v France Judgment · 18 June 1998 · France · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  43. C-45/95 Commission v Italy Judgment · 25 June 1997 · Italy · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  44. C-97/90 Lennartz Opinion · 30 April 1991 · Germany · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive
  45. C-165/86 Intiem v Staatssecretaris van Financiën Judgment · 8 March 1988 · Netherlands · cites Article 17(6) of the Sixth Directive

VAT Committee guidelines on Article 176: 1

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