# C_2016462EN.01001201.xml

| 12.12.2016 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 462/12 |
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12.12.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 462/12

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Request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad (Bulgaria) lodged on 4 October 2016 — ZPT AD v Narodno sabranie na Republika Bulgaria, Varhoven administrativen sad, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite

(Case C-518/16)

(2016/C 462/14)

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Referring court

Sofiyski gradski sad

Parties to the main proceedings

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: ZPT AD

Applicant:

Defendants: Narodno sabranie na Republika Bulgaria, Varhoven administrativen sad, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite

Defendants:

Questions referred

Questions referred

| 1. | Do implementing provisions of EU law such as Regulation No 1998/2006 (1) have direct effect and apply directly, and, if so, does a provision of national law which narrows or restricts the applicable scope of the EU legal provisions infringe those principles? |
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1.

Do implementing provisions of EU law such as Regulation No 1998/2006 (1) have direct effect and apply directly, and, if so, does a provision of national law which narrows or restricts the applicable scope of the EU legal provisions infringe those principles?

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| 2. | Is State aid granted in the form of tax relief compatible with competition in the internal market, where such aid is invested in assets used for the manufacture of products, some of which are exported to third countries or to Member States? |
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2.

Is State aid granted in the form of tax relief compatible with competition in the internal market, where such aid is invested in assets used for the manufacture of products, some of which are exported to third countries or to Member States?

| 3. | Does the manufacture of products for export through the use of assets obtained by means of State aid come within the scope of activity directly linked to the quantities exported within the meaning of Article 1(d) of Regulation No 1998/2006? If the answer is in the negative, are Member States entitled to provide in national legislation for additional restrictions on exporters of products manufactured using assets that are the result of tax relief investment? If the answer is in the affirmative, how does that rule relate to the provisions of Article 35 TFEU concerning the prohibition of quantitative restrictions on exports between Member States and all measures having equivalent effect and does it constitute discrimination and infringement of the free movement of goods? |
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3.

Does the manufacture of products for export through the use of assets obtained by means of State aid come within the scope of activity directly linked to the quantities exported within the meaning of Article 1(d) of Regulation No 1998/2006? If the answer is in the negative, are Member States entitled to provide in national legislation for additional restrictions on exporters of products manufactured using assets that are the result of tax relief investment? If the answer is in the affirmative, how does that rule relate to the provisions of Article 35 TFEU concerning the prohibition of quantitative restrictions on exports between Member States and all measures having equivalent effect and does it constitute discrimination and infringement of the free movement of goods?

| 4. | Does Article 1 of Regulation No 1998/2006 allow a legal person to be refused recognition of the right to de minimis financial aid, arising from EU law, before the expiry of the four-year period laid down in national law, in which the investment should be made, solely on the ground that in that period it invested resources in, inter alia, independent, separate structures of its business from which exports were made? |
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4.

Does Article 1 of Regulation No 1998/2006 allow a legal person to be refused recognition of the right to de minimis financial aid, arising from EU law, before the expiry of the four-year period laid down in national law, in which the investment should be made, solely on the ground that in that period it invested resources in, inter alia, independent, separate structures of its business from which exports were made?

de minimis

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(1)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis aid (OJ 2006 L 379, p. 5).

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