48It is true that, according to established case-law, the principle of fiscal neutrality, which was intended by the EU legislature to reflect, in matters relating to VAT, the general principle of equal treatment (judgment of 29 October 2009, NCC Construction Danmark, C‑174/08, EU:C:2009:669, paragraph 41 and the case-law cited), precludes in particular treating similar goods and supplies of services, which are thus in competition with each other, differently for VAT purposes (judgment of 14 December 2017, Avon Cosmetics, C‑305/16, EU:C:2017:970, paragraph 52 and the case-law cited). Furthermore, it is apparent from the case-law of the Court that that principle must be interpreted as meaning that a difference in treatment for the purposes of VAT of two deliveries of goods or two supplies of services which are identical or similar from the point of view of the consumer and meet the same needs of the consumer is sufficient to establish an infringement of that principle (see, to that effect, judgment of 10 November 2011, Rank Group, C‑259/10 and C‑260/10, EU:C:2011:719, paragraph 36). However, it must be pointed out that the line of argument advanced by the German Government is based on a comparison of supplies of goods to two clearly distinct groups of consumers and that the fact that those groups are potentially treated differently is merely the consequence of the choice made by the persons belonging to those groups to own or not to own a dwelling in a building under co-ownership.
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