Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2002:172
Date: 2002-03-14
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Free movement of goods;Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties;Customs Union
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
Community law — Direct effect — National taxes incompatible with Community 
law — Repayment — Procedures — Application of national law — Limitation 
period — Conversion into a time-limit and retroactive shortening of the period 
allowed — Not permissible without an adequate transitional period — Particular 
circumstances 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-255/00 
Community law precludes the retroactive 
application of a time-limit that is shorter 
and, as the case may be, more restrictive for 
the claimant than the period for initiating 
proceedings that was previously applicable 
to claims for the recovery of national taxes 
contrary to Community law where no 
adequate transitional period is provided 
during which claims relating to sums paid 
before the entry into force of the legislation 
introducing the new time-limit may still be 
brought within the old period. Such tran­
sitional arrangements are necessary where 
the immediate application to those claims 
of a limitation period shorter than that 
which was previously in force would have 
the effect of retroactively depriving some 
individuals of their right to repayment, or 
of allowing them too short a period for 
asserting that right. 
The transitional period must be sufficient 
to allow taxpayers who initially thought 
that the old period for bringing proceedings 
was available to them a reasonable period 
of time to assert their right of recovery in 
the event that, under the new rules, they 
would already be out of time. 
Where a limitation period of five years is 
replaced with a time-limit of three years, a 
transitional period of 90 days must be 
regarded as insufficient and six months 
must be regarded as the minimum period 
required to ensure that the exercise of 
rights of recovery is not rendered excess­
ively difficult. 
(see paras 37-38, 42, operative part) 
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