European Union – Value added tax. Article 311(1)(1) of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 should be interpreted as meaning that the concept of 'second-hand goods' did not cover used goods containing precious metals or precious stones if those goods were no longer capable of performing their initial function and had retained only the functionalities inherent in those metals and stones, which was for the national court to determine taking into account all the objective circumstances relevant in each individual case. The Court of Justice so ruled in a preliminary ruling in proceedings concerning payment of VAT and, particularly, the applicability of the margin scheme to the sale of goods containing, among other things, gold, silver and precious stones.