Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2008:525
Date: 2008-09-25
Language of the case: French
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Transport
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment Transport – Road transport – Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Directive 1999/62 – Charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (European Parliament and Council Directive 1999/62, Art. 6(2)(b); Commission Decision 2005/449) Decision 2005/449 concerning a request for exemption from the vehicle tax rules submitted by France pursuant to Article 6(2)(b) of Directive 1999/62 the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures cannot be relied on by an individual against the French Republic, to which that decision was addressed, in order to obtain the benefit of the exemption approved by that decision upon its notification or publication. It is clear from Article 6(2)(b) of that directive that in spite of the part played by the Commission, the Member States have a broad discretion both as regards their decision to make use of the exemption provided for under that article and as regards the content of the measure envisaged, without the Commission’s approval of that measure making it in any way obligatory to use that possibility. Thus, the aim and effect of Decision 2005/449 is not to compel the French Republic to grant the exemption proposed in its request for authorisation, but to authorise it to make such an exemption if it so wishes. The fact that Decision 2005/449 does not specify the date from which it first applies, but merely sets the expiry date for the approved exemption as 31 December 2009, does not affect the scope and the effects of that decision. Indeed, under the terms of Article 254(3) EC, Decision 2005/449 takes effect upon its notification to the addressee, in this case the French Republic. The fact remains that one such effect is to make possible an exemption – which, in the present case, does not yet exist and which cannot be implemented without a national legislative act – but in no way to impose such an exemption. (see paras 15-19, operative part)