Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2007:534
Date: 2007-09-20
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Internal taxation
Concepts: Prohibition of taxation on imported products in excess of that imposed on similar domestic products
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful;Action for failure to fulfil obligations - unfounded
Origin: Greece

Summary of the Judgment 1. Tax provisions – Internal taxation – Tax on the registration of imported second-hand vehicles (Art. 90, first indent, EC) 2. Tax provisions – Internal taxation – Tax on the registration of imported second-hand vehicles (Art. 90, first indent, EC) 1. By applying a single criterion of depreciation, based on the age of the vehicles, for the purpose of determining the taxable value of second-hand vehicles imported from another Member State into national territory in order to establish the registration tax, and by adopting a reduction in value of 7% for vehicles between 6 and 12 months old or 14% for vehicles more than a year old, which does not ensure that the tax due does not exceed, even if only in certain cases, the amount of the residual tax incorporated in the value of similar second-hand vehicles already registered in the national territory, a Member State fails to fulfil its obligations under Article 90 EC. (see paras 40, 59, 61, operative part 1) 2. A Member State does not fail to fulfil its obligations under Article 90 EC by applying to second-hand vehicles imported from other Member States a system of taxation under which the actual depreciation of the vehicles is defined in a general and abstract way on the basis of criteria laid down by national law, in so far as: (1) the criteria on which the fixed method of calculating the depreciation of vehicles is based are made known to the public; and (2) the owner of a second-hand vehicle imported from another Member State is able to challenge the application of such a fixed method of calculation to the vehicle in order to demonstrate that it leads to taxation exceeding the amount of the residual tax incorporated in the value of similar used vehicles already registered in the national territory. (see paras 46, 50, 60)