# C_2018104EN.01000201.xml

| 19.3.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 104/2 |
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Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 24 January 2018 — European Commission v Italian Republic

(Case C-433/15)( 1 )

((Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Milk and milk products - Additional levy on milk - Tax years 1995/1996 to 2008/2009 - Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 - Articles 79, 80 and 83 - Regulation (EC) No 595/2004 - Articles 15 and 17 - Infringement - Lack of effective payment of the levy within the time limits prescribed - Failure of recovery in the event of non-payment of the levy))

(2018/C 104/02)

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: P. Rossi, D. Nardi and J. Guillem Carrau, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Italian Republic (represented by: represented by G. Palmieri, acting as Agent, and by P. Gentili and S. Fiorentino, avvocati dello Stato)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

| 1. | By failing to ensure that the additional levy payable in respect of quantities produced in Italy in excess of the national quota, from the first year in which the additional levy was in fact applied in Italy (1995/1996) until the last year in which there was surplus production in Italy (2008/2009),
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was in fact allocated to the individual producers which had contributed to each of the production overruns and —
was paid at the appropriate time, upon their being given notification of the amount payable, by the purchasers or the producers in the case of direct sales, or —
where the levy was not paid within the period prescribed, was registered and, where possible, recovered by way of enforcement from those purchasers or producers, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil the obligations imposed on it by Articles 1 and 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 of 28 December 1992 establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector, Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1788/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing a levy in the milk and milk products sector, Articles 79, 80 and 83 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation), and, with regard to the Commission’s implementing provisions, Article 7 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 536/93 of 9 March 1993 laying down detailed rules on the application of the additional levy on milk and milk products, Article 11(1) and (2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1392/2001 of 9 July 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Regulation No 3950/92, and, finally, Articles 15 and 17 of Regulation (EC) No 595/2004 of 30 March 2004 laying down detailed rules for applying Regulation No 1788/2003, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1468/2006 of 4 October 2006; | — | was in fact allocated to the individual producers which had contributed to each of the production overruns and | — | was paid at the appropriate time, upon their being given notification of the amount payable, by the purchasers or the producers in the case of direct sales, or | — | where the levy was not paid within the period prescribed, was registered and, where possible, recovered by way of enforcement from those purchasers or producers, |
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| — | was in fact allocated to the individual producers which had contributed to each of the production overruns and | | | | | | |
| — | was paid at the appropriate time, upon their being given notification of the amount payable, by the purchasers or the producers in the case of direct sales, or | | | | | | |
| — | where the levy was not paid within the period prescribed, was registered and, where possible, recovered by way of enforcement from those purchasers or producers, | | | | | | |

| 2. | Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs. |
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( 1 )  OJ C 354, 26.10.2015.

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