Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2015:74
Date: 2015-02-10
Language of the case: Romanian
Subject matter: Taxation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Romania

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), 14 April 2015 1. Tax provisions — Internal taxation — Prohibition of discrimination between imported products and similar domestic products — Similar products — Meaning — Second-hand motor vehicles on the market in a Member State and imported second-hand motor vehicles of the same type, characteristics and wear — Included (Art. 110 TFEU) 2. Tax provisions — Internal taxation — Tax levied on imported second-hand motor vehicles at the time of their first registration in a Member State and on vehicles already registered in that Member State at the time of the first transfer, within that State, of the ownership of those vehicles — Lawfulness — Exemption of vehicles already registered and on which a tax previously in force but found to be incompatible with EU law has been levied — Unlawful (Art. 110 TFEU) 3. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Interpretation — Temporal effects of judgments by way of interpretation — Retroactive effect — Limitation by the Court — Conditions — Importance for the Member State concerned of the financial consequences of the judgment — Criterion not conclusive (Art. 267 TFEU) 1. See the text of the decision. (see paras 30, 31) 2. Article 110 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding a Member State from introducing a tax on motor vehicles which is levied on imported second-hand vehicles at the time of their first registration in that Member State and on vehicles already registered in that Member State at the time of the first transfer, within that Member State, of the ownership of those vehicles. Such a tax regime is neutral in terms of competition as between second-hand motor vehicles imported from other Member States and similar domestic vehicles already registered in the Member State concerned without tax having been paid to that effect. However, Article 110 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding that Member State from exempting from that tax vehicles already registered and in respect of which a tax previously in force but found to be incompatible with EU law has been paid. Such an exemption cannot replace the reimbursement, with interest, of that tax. Furthermore, it has the effect of exempting from the payment of the tax in issue the first transfer of the right of ownership of second-hand domestic motor vehicles registered in the Member State concerned during the period of application of the tax previously in force but found to be incompatible with EU law, whereas that tax had invariably been levied at the time of registration in that Member State of similar vehicles imported from other Member States. That exemption thus favours sales of domestic second-hand vehicles and discourages the importation of similar vehicles. In addition, the amount of the tax levied at the time of registration of a motor vehicle is incorporated into the value of that vehicle. In the case where a vehicle is registered following payment of a tax in a Member State and that vehicle is subsequently sold as a second-hand vehicle in that Member State, its market value includes the residual registration tax. If the amount of registration tax levied on an imported second-hand vehicle of the same type, characteristics and wear exceeds that residual tax, there will be a breach of Article 110 TFEU. That difference in the tax burden is liable to favour the sale of domestic second-hand vehicles, thereby discouraging the importation of similar vehicles. As the amount of the tax previously in force but found to be incompatible with EU law levied at the time of registration of domestic second-hand motor vehicles must be reimbursed with interest in such a way that the situation existing prior to the levying of that amount is restored, that amount must no longer be considered to be incorporated into the value of those vehicles. Consequently, the residual amount of that tax, incorporated into the value of second-hand domestic vehicles registered during the abovementioned period, is equal to zero and is therefore necessarily lower than the registration tax levied on imported second-hand vehicles of the same type, characteristics and wear. Such a situation is incompatible with Article 110 TFEU. (see paras 43, 47-51, operative part) 3. See the text of the decision. (see paras 53-57)