Judgment_paragraph 37 · Direktor na Direktsia ‘Obzhalvane i upravlenie na izpalnenieto’ — grad Burgas pri Tsentralno upravlenie na Natsionalnata agentsia za prihodite v Orfey Balgaria EOOD (C-549/11)

37The fact that the establishment of the building right at issue in the main proceedings represents the entire consideration, and not only part thereof, for the construction services which Orfey undertook to perform does not cast doubt on such an interpretation. Firstly, Article 65 provides that VAT becomes chargeable ‘on the amount received’. The wording of that provision does not, therefore, preclude the amount received from equalling the entire consideration for the supply of services on which the VAT becomes chargeable. Furthermore, as observed by the Court previously, in the explanatory memorandum to the proposal for the Sixth Council Directive on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, COM(73) 950 final of 20 June 1973 (Bulletin of the European Communities, supplement 11/73, p. 13), henceforth replaced by the VAT Directive, the Commission observed that ‘… receipt of [payments on account] gives rise to a charge to tax, since the parties to the transaction in this way demonstrate their intention that all the financial consequences of the chargeable event should arise in advance’ (BUPA Hospitals and Goldsborough Developments, paragraph 49). That is also precisely the case when the payment on account amounts to the entire consideration agreed upon.