Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 14 March 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf – Germany) – f6 Cigarettenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG v Hauptzollamt Bielefeld

(Case C-336/22,  (1) f6 Cigarettenfabrik)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - General arrangements for excise duty - Directive 2008/118/EC - Article 1(2) - Other indirect taxes on excise goods - Conditions for levying such a tax - Specific purpose pursued by the tax - Excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco - Directive 2011/64/EU - Article 14 - Taxation rules - Compliance with those rules by other indirect taxes on excise goods - Heated tobacco - National legislation establishing, for heated tobacco, a tax structure and tax rate differing from those applicable to ‘other smoking tobaccos’)

(C/2024/3039)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Finanzgericht Düsseldorf

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: f6 Cigarettenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG

Defendant: Hauptzollamt Bielefeld

Operative part of the judgment

Article 1(2) of Council Directive 2008/118/EC of 16 December 2008 concerning the general arrangements for excise duty and repealing Directive 92/12/EEC

must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘other indirect taxes on excise goods for specific purposes’ covers a supplementary tax applicable to heated tobacco, the amount of which is 80 % of the excise applicable to cigarettes, less the amount of excise duty applicable to such heated tobacco.

(1)   OJ C 318, 22.8.2022.