The authority competent with regards to the C3S rectified the tax base of the contribution filed by the company « Lubrizol France » in 2008. In order to challenge this tax reassessment, the company argued that intracommunity transfers of stocks should not be considered as turnover. The Cour de Cassation rejected the company’s claim based on the principle laid down in the « Soitec » decision (Cour de Cassation, 7 November 2013, n°12-20.480), underlying the fact that the determination of the C3S base relies on the information included in the VAT returns which mention the said transfers on line 06.
The company has raised a new argument before the Cour de cassation, referred to the CJEU by preliminary ruling: does the application of the C3S to these intracommunity transfers of stocks between EU Member states constitute an obstacle to free movement of goods, through the establishment of a tax with an effect equivalent to customs duties but only for the flow of goods between France and other Member States, which is prohibited by articles 28 and 30 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU?