91997E4118

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4118/97 by Raimo Ilaskivi (PPE), Jyrki Otila (PPE) and Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE) to the Commission (16 January 1998)

Subject: Tax treatment of secondhand cars for importation into Finland

Finland is among the EU Member States where cars and driving are taxed most heavily. This is a fact, even though the use of private cars is unavoidable in our country on account of the long distances and low population density.

It is true that taxation of car use does not fall within the ambit of the EU Treaty. But surely the way in which imported secondhand cars are taxed in Finland contravenes the principles of the Treaty of Rome, particularly Article 95 (cf. judgment C-47/88 of the Court of Justice of the European Communities of 11 December 1990 in a case concerning Denmark).

What will the Commission do to ensure that the Treaty of Rome is applied in the taxation of secondhand cars for importation into Finland?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (16 February 1998)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's concerns.

It believes that the problems he has raised should be considered in the light of Article 95 of the EC Treaty and the Court of Justice case law relating to that Article.

In this connection it would inform him that Finnish law on vehicle registration tax is currently being examined in the light of the Tadeu judgment (Case C-345/93), and the judgment of 23 October 1997 in Case C-375/95 Commission v Greece.

Should the Honourable Member know of any specific cases in this area, the Commission is prepared to examine them.