In Saudaçor – Sociedade Gestora de Recursos e Equipamentos de Saúde dos Açores SA v Fazenda Pública (C-174/14) (25 June 2015) the Advocate General (AG) considered that the offshoot of a public body could not benefit from the VAT exemption.
The issue was the meaning of ‘public body’ for the purpose of the Principal VAT Directive art 13. Saudaçor was a company wholly owned by the Autonomous Region of the Azores (RAA) itself a public body. The statutes of Saudaçor had both public and private features.
The AG observed that the list of public bodies varied between the different translations of the directive and that some translations included three types of public bodies whereas others included four. The AG therefore concluded that the list contained in Art 13 was not exhaustive. However given that art 13 conferred an exemption from VAT it must be strictly...
