Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:274
Date: 2013-04-25
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Tenth Chamber
Subject matter: Energy;Taxation
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Ireland

Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 25 April 2013 — Commission v Ireland (Case C‑55/12) Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 2003/96/EC — Taxation of energy products and electricity — Exemption from excise duty on fuel used by disabled persons for motor vehicles — Exemption maintained after the expiry of the transitional period — Infringement) 1. Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Exemption incompatible with the directive — Failure to fulfil obligations (Council Directive 2003/96, Art. 18(1), first para.) (see para. 33) 2. Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Taxation of energy products and electricity — Directive 2003/96 — Exemption — Notion (Council Directive 2003/96, Art. 6(c)) (see paras 37, 38) 3. Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil obligations — Justification based on the Commission’s refusal to grant an application for an exemption — Not permissible (Art. 258 TFEU) (see para. 43) 4. Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil obligations — National system pleaded as justification — Not permissible (Art. 258 TFEU) (see para. 45) Re: Infringement of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework of taxation of energy products and electricity (OJ 2003 L 283, p. 51) — Exemption from excise duty on fuel used by disabled persons for motor vehicles — Exemption maintained after the expiry of the transitional period. Operative part The Court: 1. Declares that, by continuing to grant, after the expiry on 31 December 2006 of the transitional period referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 18(1) of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 23 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework of taxation of energy products and electricity, as amended by Council Directive 2004/74/EC of 29 April 2004, and Annex II to that directive, an exemption from excise duty on fuel used by disabled persons for motor vehicles, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(1) of the directive; 2. Orders Ireland to pay the costs.