EUR-Lex Access to European Union law
This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 62019CN0788
Case C-788/19: Action brought on 23 October 2019 — European Commission v Kingdom of Spain
Case C-788/19: Action brought on 23 October 2019 — European Commission v Kingdom of Spain
Case C-788/19: Action brought on 23 October 2019 — European Commission v Kingdom of Spain
IO C 432, 23.12.2019, p. 30–31
(BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
23.12.2019 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 432/30 |
Action brought on 23 October 2019 — European Commission v Kingdom of Spain
(Case C-788/19)
(2019/C 432/35)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant: European Commission (represented by: N. Gossement and C. Perrin, acting as Agents)
Defendant: Kingdom of Spain
Form of order sought
The applicant claims that the Court should:
— |
declare that
|
— |
the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 21, 45, 56 and 63 TFEU, and Articles 28, 31, 36 and 40 of the EEA Agreement; |
— |
order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs. |
Pleas in law and main arguments
Spanish tax legislation imposes an obligation on tax residents in Spain to declare certain overseas assets and rights by means of a tax declaration form (‘Modelo 720’). Specific penalty provisions are to be applied if that obligation is not fulfilled or is fulfilled improperly.
The Commission concludes that penalties involving the classification of such assets as capital gains, the non-application of the normal rules on limitation periods and fixed penalty payments constitute a restriction of the fundamental freedoms under the TFEU and the EEA. Although in principle those measures may be appropriate for the purposes of achieving the aims pursued — which are to prevent and counter tax avoidance and tax evasion — they are disproportionate.