European Union – Value added tax. Article 273 of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 and art 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union had to be interpreted as not precluding, at the time of the registration for the purposes of VAT of a taxable person, of which the director had formerly been the director or associate member of another legal person which had not complied with its tax obligations, the tax authority from requiring that taxable person to provide a guarantee, provided that the guarantee required from that taxable person did not go further than was necessary in order to attain the objectives of art 273, which it was for the referring court to determine. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in a preliminary ruling in proceedings concerning a guarantee required at the time of the taxpayer company's registration for the purposes of VAT.