# C_2007283EN.01000201.xml

| 24.11.2007 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 283/2 |
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24.11.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 283/2

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Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 27 September 2007 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division), United Kingdom) — Ikea Wholesale Ltd v Commissioners of Customs & Excise

(Case C-351/04) (1)

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(Dumping - Imports of cotton-type bed linen from Egypt, India and Pakistan - Regulation (EC) No 2398/97 - Regulation (EC) No 1644/2001 - Regulation (EC) No 160/2002 - Regulation (EC) No 696/2002 - Recommendations and decisions of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body - Legal consequences - Regulation (EC) No 1515/2001 - Retroactivity - Reimbursement of duties paid)

(2007/C 283/02)

Language of the case: English

Referring court

High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Ikea Wholesale Ltd

Applicant:

Defendant: Commissioners of Customs & Excise

Defendant:

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) — Validity of Council Regulation (EC) No 2398/97 of 28 November 1997 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of cotton-type bed linen originating in Egypt, India and Pakistan (OJ 1997 L 332, p. 1) — Validity of Council Regulation (EC) No 1644/2001 of 7 August 2001 amending Regulation No 2398/97 and suspending its application with regard to imports originating in India (OJ 2001 L 219, p. 1) — Validity of Council Regulation (EC) No 160/2002 of 28 January 2002 amending Regulation No 2398/97 and terminating the proceeding with regard to imports originating in Pakistan (OJ 2002 L 26, p. 1) — Validity of Council Regulation (EC) No 696/2002 of 22 April 2002 confirming the definitive anti-dumping duty imposed on imports of cotton-type bed linen originating in India by Regulation No 2398/97 (OJ 2002 L 109, p. 3)

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2398/97 of 28 November 1997 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of cotton-type bed linen originating in Egypt, India and Pakistan is invalid in so far as the Council of the European Union applied, for the purpose of determining the dumping margin for the product subject to the investigation, the practice of ‘zeroing’ negative dumping margins for each of the product types concerned. |
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1.

Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2398/97 of 28 November 1997 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of cotton-type bed linen originating in Egypt, India and Pakistan is invalid in so far as the Council of the European Union applied, for the purpose of determining the dumping margin for the product subject to the investigation, the practice of ‘zeroing’ negative dumping margins for each of the product types concerned.

| 2. | An importer, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which has brought an action before a national court against the decisions by which the collection of anti-dumping duties is claimed from it under Regulation No 2398/97, declared invalid by this judgment, is, in principle, entitled to rely on that invalidity in the dispute in the main proceedings in order to obtain repayment of those duties in accordance with Article 236(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code. |
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2.

An importer, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which has brought an action before a national court against the decisions by which the collection of anti-dumping duties is claimed from it under Regulation No 2398/97, declared invalid by this judgment, is, in principle, entitled to rely on that invalidity in the dispute in the main proceedings in order to obtain repayment of those duties in accordance with Article 236(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code.

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(1)  OJ C 262, 23.10.2004.

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