Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Tax provisions Harmonisation of laws Excise duties Directive 92/83 Alcohol and alcoholic beverages Exemptions from harmonised duty Products referred to in Article 27(1)(a) and (b) of the directive Criteria governing application of the exemption

(Council Directive 92/83, Art. 27(1))

2. Community law Interpretation Texts in several languages Divergence between the various language versions

3. Tax provisions Harmonisation of laws Excise duties Directive 92/83 Alcohol and alcoholic beverages Exemptions from harmonised duty Member State's power to combat evasion, avoidance or abuse in the application of exemptions

(Council Directive 92/83, Art. 27(5))

Summary

1. It is clear from the wording of Article 27(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 92/83 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages that the grant or refusal of an exemption from excise duties is dependent on the denaturing method. If that method has been approved at Community level, the alcohol is exempted from excise duties under Article 27(1)(a). If, on the other hand, the alcohol contained in a product not intended for human consumption has been denatured in accordance with a method approved in a Member State, the exemption provided for by Article 27(1)(b) should be applied. Moreover, if the denaturing method is not one of those approved either by the Community rules or by national laws then the product cannot be exempted. Consequently, it would be contrary to Directive 92/83 to withhold exemption for a product which meets the conditions laid down in Article 27(1)(b) solely because it has been found that the use for which it is really intended does not correspond with the name assigned to it by the trader. Neither the use of pure alcohol nor the maximum alcohol content was considered by the Community legislature as a criterion for application of the exemption.

( see paras 40-42 )

2. Where there is divergence between the various language versions of a Community text, the provision in question must be interpreted by reference to the purpose and general scheme of the rules of which it forms part.

( see para. 49 )

3. As regards the conditions under which a Member State is empowered, under Article 27(5) of Directive 92/83 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, to combat evasion, avoidance or abuse in the application of exemptions, the general scheme of the rules at issue implies that the Member State concerned must put forward, at the very least, concrete evidence of a serious risk of evasion, avoidance or abuse.

( see paras 46, 52 )