NoC 162/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 7. 90 
STATE AID 
N 92/90 
(Belgium) 
(Articles 92 to 94 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community) 
(90/C 162/09) 
Commission communication pursuant to Article 93 (2) of 
the EEC Treaty to the other Member States and 
interested parties concerning aids which the Belgian 
Government has decided to grant for the promotion of 
pigmeat products, to be financed by quasi-fiscal charges. 
A. 
By letter of 13 March 1990, recorded as received on 
15 March 1990, the Permanent Representation of 
Belgium to the European Communities notified the 
Commission of the draft decree referred to above in 
accordance with Article 93 (3) of the EEC Treaty. 
As regards the aim of the aids financed by the 
abovementioned contributions the Commission would 
have no remarks to make if such aids were not financed 
by taxes on products imported at the slaughter stage. 
According to the decisions of the Court of Justice of the 
European Communities ('), the financing of a State aid 
by a compulsory charge designed for a specific purpose 
forms an essential aspect of such aid, and when such aid 
is evaluated, consideration should be given to both the 
aid and its financing having regard to Community law. 
In this sense and even if the aids are compatible in both 
form and objectives, it remains true that, in accordance 
with the decisions of the Court of Justice, their financing 
by charges designed for specific purposes also affecting 
imported Community products has a protective effect 
extending beyond the aid proper. 
This principle by which the tax on imported products is 
not collected should be extended to processing so that 
the exemption at the frontier does not simply result in a 
transfer of payment of the tax to products imported at 
the following stages. 
Even if the aim of such aids is to promote sales of 
products without distinction as to their origin, this does 
not necessarily result in effective participation equally 
profitable for all in such benefits, since even if equality of treatment is ensured from the regulation viewpoint, in 
practice a more favourable situation is created by the 
force of events for Belgian operators. 
Such aids are inspired by national specialization, 
requirements and shortcomings. In addition, it should be 
added that operators in other Member States often 
defray the cost either directly or indirectly of the 
promotion of their own products and therefore do not 
feel the need to take part in the campaigns undertaken 
by the ONDAH. The fact that the tax on live imported 
pigs is reduced by half compared with the tax on 
national products is not likely to change this line of 
argument. 
The Commission has accordingly decided to initiate the 
procedure provided for in Article 93 (2) of the EEC 
Treaty in respect of the abovementioned decree in so far 
as it provides for taxes on animals imported at the 
slaughter stage, used to finance aids in the sectors 
concerned. Under this procedure, the Belgian authorities 
should forward the provisions which they contemplate 
adopting in order to ensure that animals imported from 
other Member States are not made subject to the tax at 
the slaughter stage. 
Under this procedure the Commission hereby gives 
notice to the Belgian Government to submit its 
comments within four weeks from the date of this letter. 
B. 
The Commission hereby gives notice to the other 
Member States and to other parties concerned to submit 
their comments on the measures in question within four 
weeks from the date of this publication, to the following 
address: 
Commission of the European Communities, 
Rue de la Loi 200, 
B-1049 Brussels. 
The comments will be forwarded to the Belgian authorities. 
(') Case No 47/69 of 26 June 1970, Reports XVI, p. 487.