Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 8 September 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Corte suprema di cassazione (Italy)) — Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, Agenzia delle Entrate v Paint Graphos Soc. coop. arl (C-78/08), Adige Carni Soc. coop. arl, in liquidation v Agenzia delle Entrate, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze (C-79/08), and Ministero delle Finanze v Michele Franchetto (C-80/08)

(Joined Cases C-78/08 to C-80/08) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Admissibility - State aid - Tax advantages granted to cooperative societies - Categorisation as State aid within the meaning of Article 87 EC - Compatibility with the common market - Conditions)

2011/C 311/06

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Corte suprema di cassazione

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, Agenzia delle Entrate (C-78/08), Adige Carni Soc. coop. arl, in liquidation (C-79/08), Ministero delle Finanze (C-80/08)

Defendants: Paint Graphos Soc. coop. arl (C-78/08), Agenzia delle Entrate, Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze (C-79/08), Michele Franchetto (C-80/08)

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Corte suprema di cassazione — Interpretation of Articles 81 EC, 87 EC and 88 EC, Council Regulation (EC) No 1435/2003 of 22 July 2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE) (OJ 2003 L 207, p. 1) and Council Directive 2003/72/EC of 22 July 2003 supplementing the Statute for a European Cooperative Society with regard to the involvement of employees (OJ 2003 L 207, p. 25) — Concept of aid granted the by Member States — Italian law granting tax advantages to agricultural and producers’ and workers’ cooperative societies

Operative part of the judgment

Tax exemptions, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, granted to producers’ and workers’ cooperative societies under national legislation such as that set out in Article 11 of Decree No 601/1973 of the President of the Republic of 29 September 1973 concerning rules on tax benefits, in the version in force from 1984 to 1993, constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) EC only in so far as all the requirements for the application of that provision are met. As regards a situation such as that which gave rise to the disputes before the referring court, it is for that court to determine in particular whether the tax exemptions in question are selective and whether they may be justified by the nature or general scheme of the national tax system of which they form part, by establishing in particular whether the cooperative societies at issue in the main proceedings are in fact in a comparable situation to that of other operators in the form of profit making legal entities and, if that is indeed the case, whether the more advantageous tax treatment enjoyed by those cooperative societies, first, forms an inherent part of the essential principles of the tax system applicable in the Member State concerned and, second, complies with the principles of consistency and proportionality.

(1)  OJ C 116, 9.5.2008.