Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2010:347
Date: 2010-06-17
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Financial provisions;Own resources
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment Own resources of the European Communities – Establishment and making available by the Member States (Council Regulations No 1552/89, Arts 2, 6 and 9 to 11, No 2913/92, Art. 220(1), and No 1150/2000, Arts 2, 6 and 9 to 11) Pursuant to Article 2(1) of Regulations Nos 1552/89 and 1150/2000 implementing, respectively, Decisions 88/376 and 94/728 on the system of the Communities’ own resources, the Member States are to establish entitlement to the own resources as soon as the conditions provided for by the customs regulations have been met concerning the entry of the entitlement in the accounts and the notification of the debtor. It follows from Article 220(1) of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code that the conditions for the subsequent entry into the accounts of the amount of duty to be recovered or which remains to be recovered are fulfilled when the customs authorities become aware of the situation and are in a position to calculate the amount legally owed and to determine the debtor. In that context, when the customs authorities notify an administrative measure, regardless of how it is designated, to a debtor, finding that there has been a total or partial non-payment of customs debts and indicating the amount of customs duties which they consider to be legally owed, they are, at that time, in a position to calculate the amount of duties arising from a customs debt and to determine the debtor. Consequently, the subsequent entry into the accounts of the amount of duty to be recovered or which remains to be recovered must take place, in principle, pursuant to Article 220(1) of the Customs Code, within two days of the date on which the minute which fulfils the conditions set out in the previous paragraph was notified to the debtor. With regard to default interest, the obligation to establish the Communities’ own resources, the obligation to credit them to the Commission’s account within the prescribed time-limit and the obligation to pay default interest are inseparably linked, the last being payable regardless of the reason for the delay in making the entry in the Commission’s account. A Member State that fails to comply with the time-limits for entry of the Communities’ own resources in the event of subsequent recovery and delays payment of those resources has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 2, 6 and 9 to 11 of Regulation No 1552/89 and the same articles of Regulation No 1150/2000 and under Article 220 of Regulation No 2913/92. (see paras 37-38, 41-42, 49, 51, operative part)