ECJ approves German loss recapture rule and denial of final losses in upon the intra-group sale of a foreign PE: Timac Agro Deutschland

The European Court of Justice on December 17 ruled in Timac Agro Deutschland v.Finanzamt Sankt Augustin (C‑388/14) as follows:

1.      Article 49 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding a Member State’s tax regime, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which, in the event of transfer by a resident company to a non-resident company within the same group of a permanent establishment situated in another Member State, the losses previously deducted in respect of the establishment transferred are reincorporated into the taxable profit of the transferring company where, under a double taxation convention, the income of such a permanent establishment is exempt from tax in the Member State in which the company to which that establishment belonged has its seat.

2.      Article 49 TFEU is to be interpreted as not precluding a Member State’s tax regime, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, in the event of transfer by a resident company to a non-resident company within the same group of a permanent establishment situated in another Member State, excludes the possibility, for the resident company, of taking into account in its tax base the losses of the establishment transferred where, under a double taxation convention, the exclusive power to tax the profits of that establishment lies with the Member State in which the establishment is situated.

See:

• C‑388/14