JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 30 June 2005

in Case C-165/03 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from Landgericht Stuttgart): Mathias Längst, interested parties SABU Schuh & Marketing GmbH and Others (1)

(Directive 69/335/EEC - Indirect taxes on the raising of capital - Notary's charges - Notary employed as a civil servant - Payment to the State of a fixed portion of the charges)

(2005/C 205/02)

Language of the case: German

In Case C-165/03: reference for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Landgericht Stuttgart (Germany), made by decision of 7 April 2003, received at the Court on 10 April 2003, in the proceedings Mathias Längst, interested parties: SABU Schuh & Marketing GmbH, Präsident des Landgerichts Stuttgart, Bezirksrevisor des Landgerichts Stuttgart, the Court: (Fifth Chamber), composed of R. Silva de Lapuerta, President of the Chamber, R. Schintgen (Rapporteur) and J. Makarczyk, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on 30 June 2005, the operative part of which is as follows:

Council Directive 69/335/EEC of 17 July 1969 concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital, as amended by Council Directive 85/303/EEC of 10 June 1985, must be interpreted as meaning that the charges of a notary employed as a civil servant for the drawing up of a notarially attested act recording a transaction covered by that directive constitute taxes for the purposes of that directive where, under the relevant national legislation, notaries authorised to practise are not all civil servants and are themselves owed the charges in question, and, in addition, those notaries who are employed as civil servants are required to remit a portion of those charges to the public authority which uses that revenue for the financing of its official business.

(1)  OJ C 213 of 06.09.2003