Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Tax provisions - Internal taxation - Taxable value - Calculation method which varies as between domestic products and those imported from other Member States - Incompatible with Article 95 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 90 EC)

(EC Treaty, Art. 95 (now, after amendment, Art. 90 EC))

2. Free movement of goods - Customs duties - Charges having equivalent effect - Internal taxation - Tax levied only on goods imported from other Member States, to the exclusion of similar domestic goods - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Arts 9, 12 and 95 (now, after amendment, Arts 23 EC, 25 EC and 90 EC))

3. Common Customs Tariff - Customs value - Regulation No 1224/80 - Scope

(Council Regulation No 1224/80)

4. Community law - Direct effect - Individual rights - Protected by national courts and tribunals - Legal proceedings - Detailed national procedural rules - Conditions of application

(EC Treaty, Art. 5 (now Art. 10 EC))

Summary

$$1. Article 95 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 90 EC) precludes national legislation which prescribes a method of calculating taxable value for the purposes of turnover tax, stamp duty and a special consumption tax, where that method varies according to whether the taxes are to be levied on domestic products or imported products, with the result that the latter are taxed more heavily.

( see para. 51, operative part 1 )

2. Article 95 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 90 EC), or Articles 9 and 12 thereof (now, after amendment, Articles 23 EC and 25 EC), preclude national legislation on the application of a tax, such as a regularising tax, under which that tax is payable on goods from another Member State but not on equivalent goods produced in the national territory.

( see para. 51, operative part 2 )

3. Regulation No 1224/80 on the valuation of goods for customs purposes, which is based on Article 113 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 133 EC), concerns solely trade with non-member countries and does not therefore apply to trade between Member States.

( see para. 53, operative part 3 )

4. Pursuant to the principle of cooperation laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty (now Article 10 EC), it is for the courts and tribunals of the Member States to ensure the legal protection which individuals derive from the direct effect of Community law. In the absence of Community rules governing a matter, it is for the domestic legal system of each Member State to lay down the detailed procedural rules governing actions for safeguarding rights which individuals derive from the direct effect of Community law. However, such rules must not be less favourable than those governing similar domestic actions nor render virtually impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of rights conferred by Community law.

( see paras 58, 69 )

5. Community law precludes national legislation which requires customs authorities to withhold imported goods in the event of disputes concerning the amount of tax demanded, unless the person concerned pays that amount, if that procedure is less favourable than the procedure applicable to similar domestic actions or if, in practice, it makes it virtually impossible or excessively difficult for the person concerned to import goods from other Member States.

( see para. 61, operative part 4 )

6. The Treaty does not preclude a provision of national law under which disputes concerning the levying of taxes on imported products are to be settled by administrative procedure, which may have an effect on the importation of products, provided that there is no comparable procedure applicable to disputes concerning domestic products which is predisposed in their favour and that decisions by the administrative authorities refusing or restricting imports are open to judicial review.

( see para. 67, operative part 5 )

7. Community law does not preclude a provision of national law under which, in judicial proceedings in which it is sought to establish State liability with a view to obtaining compensation for damage caused by a breach of Community law, witness evidence is admissible only in exceptional cases, provided that such a provision applies also to similar domestic actions and that it does not prevent individuals from asserting rights which they derive from the direct effect of Community law.

( see para. 72, operative part 6 )