Joined Cases C-113/10, C-147/10 and C-234/10

Zuckerfabrik Jülich AG

v

Hauptzollamt Aachen,

British Sugar plc

v

Rural Payments Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

and

Tereos — Union de coopératives agricoles à capital variable

v

Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects and Receveur principal des douanes et droits indirects de Gennevilliers

(References for a preliminary ruling brought by the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf, by the High Court of Justice (England & Wales), Chancery Division and the tribunal de grande instance de Nanterre)

‛Common agricultural policy — Common organisation of the markets — Producers of sugar and of isoglucose — Calculation of production levies — Validity of a method of calculation taking into account fictitious refund amounts for those quantities of sugar exported without refund — Retroactive effect of the legislation — Exchange rate — Award of interest’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 27 September 2012

Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Production levy — Calculation — Regulation No 1193/2003 — System aimed at fixing a priori the total loss to be financed, as referred to in Article 15(1)(e) of Basic Regulation No 1260/2001, at an amount greater than that of the costs linked to refunds — Non-conformity with the objective pursued by the basic regulation — Invalidity (Council Regulation No 1260/2001; Commission Regulations No 1686/2005, Art. 2 and No 1193/2009) Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Production levy — Calculation — Determination of the exchange rate applicable to repayments of overpayments — No European Union law rules on the matter — Calculation made on the basis of the national law of the Member State concerned (Council Decision 2000/597, Art. 8(1) and 2007/436, Art. 8(1)) Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Production levy — Sums unduly paid by individuals by way of production levies determined by an invalid regulation — Right to reimbursement of such sums and payment of the interest on such sums — Discretion of a national court to refuse payment of such interest on sums levied by a Member State on the basis of the impossibility for that State of reclaiming interest relating to the European Union’s own resources — No such discretion

Regulation No 1193/2009 correcting Regulations No1762/2003, No 1775/2004, No 1686/2005, No 164/2007 and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006 is invalid, with the exception of Article 3 thereof, which has already been annulled as a result of the annulment, by the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 29September 2011 in Case T-4/06 Poland v Commission, of Article 2 of Regulation No 1686/2005 setting the production levies and the coefficient for the additional levy in the sugar sector for the 2004/05 marketing year, since the system put in place by the Commission, in so far as it leads, in practice, to fixing a priori the total estimated loss, for the purposes of Article 15(1)(e) of Basic Regulation No 1260/2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector, at an amount greater than that of the costs linked to refunds, exceeds the objective pursued by the basic regulation and, in particular, goes beyond a fair means of financing costs related to the disposal of Community production surpluses. (see paras 39, 53, 54, operative part 1) In the absence of provisions of European Union law on the matter, it is for the domestic legal system of the Member State concerned to determine the applicable exchange rate for calculating the compensation payable in respect of overpayments of production levies in the sugar sector. Since, pursuant to Article 8(1) of Decisions 2000/597 and 2007/436 on the system of the European Communities’ own resources, those levies are collected by the Member States in accordance with national provisions imposed by law, regulation or administrative action, which are adapted, where necessary, to the requirements of European Union law, disputes relating to the recovery of sums levied on behalf of the European Union therefore come within the jurisdiction of national courts and must be settled by those courts in application of their national law as regards both procedure and substance to the extent to which European Union law has not made other provision in the matter. (see paras 58, 63, operative part 2) Under European Union law, individuals entitled to reimbursement of sums paid unduly in respect of production levies in the sugar sector determined on the basis of an invalid regulation are also entitled to payment of the interest on such sums. A national court cannot use its discretion to refuse payment of interest on the sums levied by a Member State on the basis of an invalid regulation on the ground that that Member State cannot reclaim the corresponding interest on the European Union’s own resources. (see paras 67-69, operative part 3)

Joined Cases C-113/10, C-147/10 and C-234/10

Zuckerfabrik Jülich AG

v

Hauptzollamt Aachen,

British Sugar plc

v

Rural Payments Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

and

Tereos — Union de coopératives agricoles à capital variable

v

Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects and Receveur principal des douanes et droits indirects de Gennevilliers

(References for a preliminary ruling brought by the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf, by the High Court of Justice (England & Wales), Chancery Division and the tribunal de grande instance de Nanterre)

‛Common agricultural policy — Common organisation of the markets — Producers of sugar and of isoglucose — Calculation of production levies — Validity of a method of calculation taking into account fictitious refund amounts for those quantities of sugar exported without refund — Retroactive effect of the legislation — Exchange rate — Award of interest’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 27 September 2012

Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Production levy — Calculation — Regulation No 1193/2003 — System aimed at fixing a priori the total loss to be financed, as referred to in Article 15(1)(e) of Basic Regulation No 1260/2001, at an amount greater than that of the costs linked to refunds — Non-conformity with the objective pursued by the basic regulation — Invalidity (Council Regulation No 1260/2001; Commission Regulations No 1686/2005, Art. 2 and No 1193/2009) Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Production levy — Calculation — Determination of the exchange rate applicable to repayments of overpayments — No European Union law rules on the matter — Calculation made on the basis of the national law of the Member State concerned (Council Decision 2000/597, Art. 8(1) and 2007/436, Art. 8(1)) Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Sugar — Production levy — Sums unduly paid by individuals by way of production levies determined by an invalid regulation — Right to reimbursement of such sums and payment of the interest on such sums — Discretion of a national court to refuse payment of such interest on sums levied by a Member State on the basis of the impossibility for that State of reclaiming interest relating to the European Union’s own resources — No such discretion