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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> EMU Tabac (Taxation) [1998] EUECJ C-296/95 (02 April 1998) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/1998/C29695.html Cite as: [1998] CEC 558, [1998] 3 WLR 298, [1998] 2 CMLR 1205, [1998] QB 791, [1998] ECR I-1605, [1998] EUECJ C-296/95 |
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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
2 April 1998 (1)
(Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products - Member State in which duty is payable - Purchase through an agent)
In Case C-296/95,
REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty by the Court of Appeal, England and Wales, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
The Queen
and
Commissioners of Customs and Excise,
ex parte EMU Tabac SARL, The Man in Black Limited and John Cunningham,
Intervener: Imperial Tobacco Ltd,
on the interpretation of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products (OJ 1992 L 76, p. 1), as amended by Council Directive 92/108/EEC of 14 December 1992 (OJ 1992 L 390, p. 124),
THE COURT,
composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, H. Ragnemalm, M. Wathelet and R. Schintgen (Presidents of Chambers), G.F. Mancini, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, J.L. Murray (Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch, P. Jann and L. Sevón, Judges,
Advocate General: D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,
Registrar: D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal Administrator,
after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:
- EMU Tabac SARL, The Man in Black Limited and Mr Cunningham, by Robert Venables QC, Timothy Lyons and Amanda Hardy, Barristers,
- Imperial Tobacco Ltd, by David Vaughan QC, and Mark Brealey, Barrister,
- the United Kingdom Government, by Lindsey Nicoll, of the Treasury Solicitor's Department, acting as Agent, and by Stephen Richards and Robert Jay, Barristers,
- the German Government, by Ernst Röder, Ministerialrat in the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Bernd Kloke, Oberregierungsrat in that Ministry, acting as Agents,
- the Greek Government, by Fokion Georgakopoulos, Assistant Legal Adviser in the State Legal Service, and Galatia Alexaki, Adviser in the Special Community Legal Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agents,
- the French Government, by Catherine de Salins, Head of Subdirectorate in the Legal Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Frédéric Pascal, Chargé de Mission in the same Ministry, acting as Agents,
- the Irish Government, by Michael A. Buckley, Chief State Solicitor, acting as Agent, Michael Collins, SC, and Jennifer Payne, Barrister-at-Law,
- the Italian Government, by Professor Umberto Leanza, Head of the Contentious Diplomatic Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent, assisted by Ivo Braguglia, Avvocato dello Stato, acting as Agent,
- the Netherlands Government, by Adriaan Bos, Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent,
- the Austrian Government, by Franz Cede, Ambassador, acting as Agent,
- the Swedish Government, by Erik BrattgĘard, DepartementsrĘad in the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent,
- the Commission of the European Communities, by Enrico Traversa and Peter Oliver, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents,
having regard to the Report for the Hearing,
after hearing the oral observations of EMU Tabac SARL, The Man in Black Limited and Mr Cunningham, represented by Robert Venables, Timothy Lyons and Amanda Hardy; Imperial Tobacco Ltd, represented by David Vaughan and Mark Brealey; the United Kingdom Government, represented by Lindsey Nicoll, Stephen Richards and Robert Jay; the Danish Government, represented by Peter Biering, Legal Adviser, Head of Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent; the Greek Government, represented by Fokion Georgakopoulos; the French Government, represented by Frédéric Pascal; the Irish Government, represented by Andreas O'Caoimh, SC, and Niamh Hyland, Barrister-at-Law; the Italian Government, represented by Ivo M. Braguglia; the Netherlands Government, represented by Marc Fierstra, Assistant Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent; the Finnish Government, represented by Tuula Pynnä, Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent; the Swedish Government, represented by Erik BrattgĘard; and the Commission, represented by Enrico Traversa and Peter Oliver, at the hearing on 4 March 1997,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 17 April 1997,
gives the following
directors of that company, and the Commissioners of Customs and Excise ('the Commissioners') concerning the charging of excise duty on cigarettes.
The United Kingdom legislation
The applicable Community legislation
'1. Excise duty shall become chargeable at the time of release for consumption or when shortages are recorded which must be subject to excise duty in accordance with Article 14(3).
Release for consumption of products subject to excise duty shall mean:
(a) any departure, including irregular departure, from a suspension arrangement;
(b) any manufacture, including irregular manufacture, of those products outside a suspension arrangement;
(c) any importation of those products, including irregular importation, where those products have not been placed under a suspension arrangement.
2. The chargeability conditions and rate of excise duty to be adopted shall be those in force on the date on which duty becomes chargeable in the Member State where release for consumption takes place or shortages are recorded. Excise duty shall be levied and collected according to the procedure laid down by each Member State, it being understood that Member States shall apply the same procedures for levying and collection to national products and to those from other Member States.'
'1. In the event of products subject to excise duty and already released for consumption in one Member State being held for commercial purposes in another
Member State, the excise duty shall be levied in the Member State in which those products are held.
2. To that end, without prejudice to Article 6, where products already released for consumption as defined in Article 6 in one Member State are delivered, intended for delivery in another Member State or used in another Member State for the purposes of a trader carrying out an economic activity independently or for the purposes of a body governed by public law, excise duty shall become chargeable in that other Member State.
3. Depending on all the circumstances, the duty shall be due from the person making the delivery or holding the products intended for delivery or from the person receiving the products for use in a Member State other than the one where the products have already been released for consumption, or from the relevant trader or body governed by public law.
4. The products referred to in paragraph 1 shall move between the territories of the various Member States under cover of an accompanying document listing the main data from the document referred to in Article 18(1). The form and content of this document shall be established in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 24 of this Directive.
5. The person, trader or body referred to in paragraph 3 must comply with the following requirements:
(a) before the goods are dispatched, make a declaration to the tax authorities of the Member State of destination and guarantee the payment of the excise duty;
(b) pay the excise duty of the Member State of destination in accordance with the procedure laid down by that Member State;
(c) consent to any check enabling the administration of the Member State of destination to satisfy itself that the goods have actually been received and that the excise duty to which they are liable has been paid.
6. The excise duty paid in the first Member State referred to in paragraph 1 shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 22(3).'
'As regards products acquired by private individuals for their own use and transported by them, the principle governing the internal market lays down that excise duty shall be charged in the Member State in which they are acquired.'
'1. Without prejudice to Articles 6, 7 and 8, excise duty shall become chargeable where products [released] for consumption in a Member State are held for commercial purposes in another Member State.
In this case, the duty shall be due in the Member State in whose territory the products are and shall become chargeable to the holder of the products.
2. To establish that the products referred to in Article 8 are intended for commercial purposes, Member States must take account, inter alia, of the following:
- the commercial status of the holder of the products and his reasons for holding them,
- the place where the products are located or, if appropriate, the mode of transport used,
- any document relating to the products,
- the nature of the products,
- the quantity of the products.
For the purposes of applying the content of the fifth indent of the first subparagraph, Member States may lay down guide levels, solely as a form of evidence. These guide levels may not be lower than:
(a) Tobacco products
cigarettes 800 items
cigarillos (cigars weighing
not more than 3 g each) 400 items
cigars 200 items
smoking tobacco 1.0 kg;
(b) Alcoholic beverages
spirit drinks 10 l
intermediate products 20 l
wines (including a maximum
of 60 l of sparkling wines) 90 l
beers 110 l.
Until 30 June 1997 Ireland shall be authorised to apply guide levels which may not be less than 45 litres for wine (including a maximum of 30 litres of sparkling wine) and 55 litres for beer.'
'1. Products subject to excise duty purchased by persons who are not authorised warehousekeepers or registered or non-registered traders and dispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or on his behalf shall be liable to excise duty in the Member State of destination. For the purposes of this Article, "Member State of destination" shall mean the Member State of arrival of the dispatch or transport.
2. To that end, the delivery of products subject to excise duty already released for consumption in a Member State and giving rise to the dispatch or transport of those products to a person as referred to in paragraph 1, established in another Member State, and which are dispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or on his behalf shall cause excise duty to be chargeable on those products in the Member State of destination.
3. The duty of the Member State of destination shall be chargeable to the vendor at the time of delivery. However, Member States may adopt provisions stipulating that the excise duty shall be payable by a tax representative, other than the consignee of the products. Such tax representative must be established in the Member State of destination and approved by the tax authorities of that Member State.
The Member State in which the vendor is established must ensure that he complies with the following requirements:
- guarantee payment of excise duty under the conditions set by the Member State of destination prior to dispatch of the products and ensure that the excise duty is paid following arrival of the products,
- keep accounts of deliveries of products.
4. In the case referred to in paragraph 2, the excise duty paid in the first Member State shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 22(4).
5. Subject to Community law, Member States may lay down specific rules for applying this provision to products subject to excise duty which are covered by special national distribution arrangements compatible with the Treaty.'
The case in the main proceedings
'1. Does Directive 92/12/EEC and in particular Article 8 have the effect of precluding the charging of excise duty on goods in Member State A in circumstances where -
(i) the goods were acquired for the use of a private individual in Member State A;
(ii) they were acquired in Member State B by an agent acting on behalf of that private individual;
(iii) transportation of the goods from Member State B to Member State A was arranged by the agent; and
(iv) the individual did not himself travel with the goods from Member State B to Member State A?
2. Where a scheme has been commercially devised and marketed whereunder purchases made in Member State B for the personal use of a private individual in Member State A are made by an agent for that individual and those purchases are transported from Member State B to Member State A as a result of arrangements made by such an agent, does Directive 92/12/EEC have the effect of precluding the charging of excise duty on those purchases in Member State A?'
arranged by company Y on behalf of those individuals and effected by a professional carrier charging for his services.
Costs
54. The costs incurred by the United Kingdom, Austrian, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Netherlands and Swedish Governments and by the Commission of the European Communities, which have submitted observations to the Court, are not recoverable. Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the proceedings pending before the national court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court.
On those grounds,
THE COURT
in answer to the questions referred to it by the Court of Appeal by order of 31 July 1995, hereby rules:
Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products, as amended by Council Directive 92/108/EEC of 14 December 1992, must be interpreted as not precluding the levying of excise duty in Member State A on goods released for consumption in Member State B, where the goods were acquired from a company, X, for the use of private individuals in Member State A, through a company, Y, acting in return for payment as agent for those individuals, and where transportation of the goods from Member State B to Member State A was also arranged by company Y on behalf of those individuals and effected by a professional carrier charging for his services.
Rodríguez Iglesias
SchintgenMancini
Moitinho de Almeida
Hirsch
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Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 2 April 1998.
R. Grass G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias
Registrar President
1: Language of the case: English.