Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 5 March 2015 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tallinna ringkonnakohus — Estonia) — Tallinna Ettevõtlusamet v Statoil Fuel & Retail Eesti AS

(Case C-553/13) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Indirect taxation - Excise duties - Directive 2008/118/EC - Article 1(2) - Liquid fuel subject to excise duty - Sales tax - Concept of ‘specific purpose’ - Predetermined allocation - Organisation of public transport within the territory of a city))

(2015/C 138/16)

Language of the case: Estonian

Referring court

Tallinna ringkonnakohus

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Tallinna Ettevõtlusamet

Defendant: Statoil Fuel & Retail Eesti AS

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 not permitting a tax such as that at issue in the main proceedings, in so far as it is levied on retail sales of liquid fuel subject to excise duty, to be regarded as having a specific purpose within the meaning of that provision where that tax is intended to finance the organisation of public transport within the territory of the authority imposing the tax and where that authority is required to undertake and finance such transport irrespective of the existence of that tax, even if the revenue from that tax has been used solely for the purpose of performing that activity. The provision in question must therefore be interpreted as precluding national rules such as those at issue in the main proceedings instituting such a tax on retail sales of liquid fuel subject to excise duty.

(1)  OJ C 15, 18.1.2014.