Judgment_paragraph 40 · ATP PensionService A/S v Skatteministeriet (C-464/12)

40It should be borne in mind from the outset that, according to settled case-law, whilst the exemptions provided for in, inter alia, Article 13B(d)(6) of the Sixth Directive are autonomous concepts of EU law which must, in principle, be given a common definition in order to avoid divergences in the application of the VAT system from one Member State to another, so that the Member States cannot alter their content, that is not the case where the legislature has conferred on the Member States the task of defining certain terms of an exemption (see, to that effect, Case C-169/04 Abbey National [2006] ECR I-4027, paragraphs 38 and 39; JP Morgan Fleming, paragraphs 19 and 20; and Case C‑424/11 Wheels Common Investment Fund Trustees and Others [2013] ECR (‘Wheels’), paragraph 16). As it is, Article 13B(d)(6) of the Sixth Directive confers upon the Member States the task of defining the meaning of ‘special investment funds’ (see Wheels, paragraph 16).