Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Agriculture ° Common organization of the markets ° Import and export licences ° Import licences wrongly issued as a result of an administrative error ° Action for damages brought by the holder before the national court ° Whether permissible in the light of Regulation No 3719/88

(Commission Regulation No 3719/88, Arts 24 and 25)

2. European Communities' own resources ° Post-clearance recovery of import or export duties ° Scope of Regulation No 1697/79 ° Administrative error which could not "reasonably have been detected by the person liable" ° Assessment criteria

(Council Regulation No 1697/79, Art. 5(2))

Summary

1. Articles 24 and 25 of Regulation No 3719/88 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products, which authorize the agency issuing a licence or certificate to correct it, do not preclude the holder of import licences from bringing an action for damages against the issuing agency, in accordance with national law, where it is agreed that those licences should not have been issued, in the course of which regard is had inter alia to the trader' s legitimate expectations in respect of those licences.

2. An action for the post-clearance recovery of import levies which have not been paid on account of an error made by the competent authorities of a Member State when issuing import licences falls within the scope of Article 5 of Regulation No 1697/79 on the post-clearance recovery of import or export duties.

In order to assess whether there has been an "error made by the competent authorities themselves which could not reasonably have been detected by the person liable", within the meaning of Article 5(2), regard must be had inter alia to the nature of the error, the professional experience of the trader concerned and the degree of care which he exercised. It is for the national court to appraise whether or not, on the basis of that interpretation, the error which resulted in the duties not being collected was capable of being detected by the person liable.