European union – Value added tax. Article 144 of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112, in conjunction with art 86(1)(b) of that directive, should be interpreted as precluding national legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings which required, for the application of an exemption from VAT for ancillary services, including transport services, not only that their value was included in the taxable amount, but also that VAT had in fact been charged on those services at the customs stage at the time of importation. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in a preliminary ruling in proceedings between the Italian Revenue authority and an Italian subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation group, concerning the levying of VAT on transport costs connected to the importation of goods exempt from VAT.