Judgment_paragraph 37 · Firma Z v Finanzamt Y (C-802/19)

37Furthermore, as regards Firma Z’s arguments, it should be noted that the referring court pointed out, with particular regard to national health insurance law, that it entertained no doubts as to the nature of the service relationships in question. In that respect, it should be noted that, under Article 267 TFEU – which is based on a clear separation of functions between the national courts and tribunals and the Court – any assessment of the facts in the case is a matter for the national court or tribunal. In particular, the Court is empowered only to give rulings on the interpretation or the validity of an EU provision on the basis of the facts which the national court or tribunal puts before it. On the other hand, it falls exclusively to the referring court to interpret national legislation. It is for the national court alone, in their preliminary rulings, to define the subject matter of the questions which it wishes to refer to the Court. The Court cannot, at the request of one party to the main proceedings, examine questions which have not been submitted to it by the national court or tribunal (see, to that effect, the order of 7 October 2013, Società cooperativa Madonna dei miracoli, C‑82/13, EU:C:2013:655, paragraph 11 and the judgment of 11 June 2015, Berlington Hungary and Others, C‑98/14, EU:C:2015:386, paragraph 48).