Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:857
Date: 2013-12-19
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Taxation;Internal taxation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary – Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber), 19 December 2013 1. Tax provisions – Internal taxation – Prohibition of discrimination between imported products and similar domestic products – Like products – Used automobile vehicles present on the market of a Member State – Definition (Art. 110 TFEU) 2. Tax provisions – Internal taxation – Duty levied upon the registration of used automobile vehicles for the purpose of being placed in circulation in national territory – Application to used vehicles imported from other Member States – Amount of tax exceeding the residual tax incorporated into the value of used vehicles already registered on national territory – Not permissible (Art. 110 TFEU) 1. For the purpose of applying Article 110 TFEU, the similar domestic products which are comparable to a used vehicle, which was first put into service before 1 February 2008 and was imported and registered in a Member State in 2010, are the vehicles already present on the market of that Member State whose characteristics are closest to those of the vehicle in question. (see para. 45, operative part) 2. Article 110 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding a passenger-car and motorcycle tax as in force in 2010, if and in so far as the amount of that tax levied on used imported vehicles upon their registration in the Member State exceeds the lowest residual amount thereof incorporated into the value of similar used vehicles already registered in that same Member State. If the amount of registration tax levied on used imported vehicles exceeds the residual registration tax incorporated into the value of similar used vehicles already registered on the national market, this is liable to favour the sale of domestic used vehicles, thereby discouraging the import of similar used vehicles. In that regard, the Member States’ powers to make new tax arrangements or to change the basis of assessment of existing taxes are not unlimited. The prohibition laid down in Article 110 TFEU applies whenever a fiscal charge is liable to discourage imports of goods originating in other Member States in favour of domestic goods. (see paras 32, 34, 45, operative part)