Judgment
Case C-18/11
Decision:
"On those grounds, the Court (Fourth Chamber) hereby rules:
1. Article 43 EC must be interpreted as meaning that where, under the national legislation of a Member State, the possibility of transferring, by means of group relief and to a resident company, losses sustained by the permanent establishment in that Member State of a non?resident company is subject to a condition that those losses cannot be used for the purposes of foreign taxation, and where the transfer of losses sustained in that Member State by a resident company is not subject to any equivalent condition, such provisions constitute a restriction on the freedom of a non?resident company to establish itself in another Member State.
2. A restriction on the freedom of a non-resident company to establish itself in another Member State, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, cannot be justified by overriding reasons in the public interest based on the objective of preventing the double use of losses or the objective of preserving a balanced allocation of the power to impose taxes between the Member States or by a combination of those two grounds.
3. In a situation such as that in the main proceedings, the national court must disapply any provision of the national legislation which is contrary to Article 43 EC."
|