Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 12 November 2009.#Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain.#Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Sixth VAT Directive - Article 2 and Article 4(1), (2) and (5) - Harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment - Taxable persons - Activities or operations carried out by 'registradores de la propiedad' (land registrars) acting as settlement agents in charge of settlement offices of a mortgage district - Economic activities - Activity carried out independently - Public-law bodies carrying out activities in connection with their public duties - Infringement of Community law attributable to a national court.#Case C-154/08.

Subject of the case

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Infringement of Articles 2 and 4(1) and (2) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) – Taxable persons – Activities or operations carried out by ‘registradores de la propiedad’.

Operative part

Operative part

The Court:

1. Declares that, by considering that the services supplied to an Autonomous Community by ‘registradores de la propiedad’ acting as settlement agents in charge of a settlement office of a mortgage district (‘oficina liquidadora de distrito hipotecario’) are not subject to value added tax, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 2 and Article 4(1) and (2) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.