OPINION OF ADVOCATE GENERAL

SHARPSTON

delivered on 23 May 2019 ( 1 )

Case C‑270/18

UPM France

v

Premier ministre,

Ministre de l’Action et des Comptes publics

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État (Council of State, France))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Taxation of energy products and electricity — Directive 2003/96/EC — Exemption of small producers of electricity, subject to taxation of the electricity produced — Absence, during the transitional period accorded, of an internal tax on final electricity consumption)

1. Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the [EU] framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (Directive 2003/96, or ‘the Directive’) ( 2 ) afforded France a special transitional period to make the necessary adjustments to existing arrangements. This reference for a preliminary ruling enquires as to the respective rights and obligations of taxable entities and of the Member State during that period.

2. Specifically, UPM France claims, on the basis of Article 14(1)(a) of Directive 2003/96, that it is entitled to reimbursement of tax paid on its consumption of natural gas in an installation for the combined generation of heat and electricity, where the electricity thereby produced was consumed for its own use in a further manufacturing process. UPM France has been unsuccessful thus far before the national courts. The Conseil d’État (Council of State, France; ‘the referring court’), as the final court of appeal, has now requested the Court’s assistance in interpreting Articles 14(1)(a) and 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96.

Legislative framework

EU law

3. The principal objective of Directive 2003/96 is set out in recital 3, which states that ‘the proper functioning of the internal market and the achievement of the objectives of other [EU} policies require minimum levels of taxation to be laid down at [EU} level for most energy products, including electricity, natural gas and coal’.

4. Those minimum tax levels are addressed in recital 10, which records that ‘Member States wish to introduce or retain different types of taxation on energy products and electricity. To that end, Member States should be permitted to comply with the [EU} minimum taxation levels by taking into account the total charge levied in respect of all indirect taxes which they have chosen to apply (excluding VAT)’.

5. Exemptions are addressed in recital 24, which explains that ‘Member States should be permitted to apply certain other exemptions or reduced levels of taxation, where that will not be detrimental to the proper functioning of the internal market and will not result in distortions of competition’.

6. Recital 25 goes on to state that ‘in particular, combined heat and power generation and, in order to promote the use of alternative energy sources, renewable forms of energy may qualify for preferential treatment’.

7. Recital 30 explains that ‘transitional periods and arrangements may be required in order to allow Member States to smoothly adapt to the new levels of taxation, thus limiting possible negative side effects’.

8. Recital 33 then cross-refers to the application of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products, ( 3 ) indicating that ‘the scope of Directive 92/12/EEC should, where appropriate, be extended to the products and indirect taxes covered by this Directive’.

9. Article 1 of the Directive provides that ‘Member States shall impose taxation on energy products and electricity in accordance with this Directive’.

10. Article 2(1) defines ‘energy products’ by reference to the CN codes set out in the Annex to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87. ( 4 ) Article 2(2) defines ‘electricity’ as covered by Directive 2003/96 by reference to a different CN code. Accordingly, ‘energy products’ and ‘electricity’ are used as separate concepts in the Directive.

11. Article 14(1)(a), first sentence, lays down a mandatory exemption from Article 1: ‘in addition to the general provisions set out in Directive 92/12/EEC on exempt uses of taxable products, and without prejudice to other [EU] provisions, Member States shall exempt the following from taxation under conditions which they shall lay down for the purpose of ensuring the correct and straightforward application of such exemptions and of preventing any evasion, avoidance or abuse: (a) energy products and electricity used to produce electricity and electricity used to maintain the ability to produce electricity’.

12. Article 14(1)(a), second and third sentences, then provide for an optional derogation from that exemption: ‘Member States may, for reasons of environmental policy, subject these products to taxation without having to respect the minimum levels of taxation laid down in this Directive. In such case, the taxation of these products shall not be taken into account for the purpose of satisfying the minimum level of taxation on electricity laid down in Article 10’.

13. Article 15(1)(c) and (d) provide further optional exemptions for combined heat and power generation: ‘without prejudice to other [EU] provisions, Member States may apply under fiscal control total or partial exemptions or reductions in the level of taxation to … (c) energy products and electricity used for combined heat and power generation; (d) electricity produced from combined heat and power generation, provided that the combined generators are environmentally friendly …’.

14. Article 18 sets out specific transitional arrangements for a number of Member States. Article 18(10) contains the special arrangements for France. Its second subparagraph provides that ‘the French Republic may apply a transitional period until 1 January 2009 to adapt its current electricity taxation system to the provisions set out in this Directive. During this period, the global average level of the current local electricity taxation is to be taken into account to assess whether the minimum rates set out in this Directive are respected’. ( 5 )

15. Article 21(5), third subparagraph, expressly cross-refers to Article 14(1)(a) and provides for a further optional exemption: ‘an entity producing electricity for its own use is regarded as a distributor. Notwithstanding Article 14(1)(a), Member States may exempt small producers of electricity provided that they tax the energy products used for the production of that electricity’.

16. Article 28(1) states that ‘Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than 31 December 2003. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof’.

National law

Taxation of gas

17. The relevant period for the present reference is from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006. ( 6 ) During that period, Article 266 quinquies of the ‘Code des douanes’ (Customs Code) ( 7 ) provided that natural gas was subject to a domestic tax on consumption of natural gas, the ‘taxe intérieure de consommation sur le gaz naturel’, commonly referred to as the ‘TICGN’.

18. However, Article 266 quinquies A of the Customs Code provided that the combined generation of heat and electricity, using installations that were operable no later than 31 December 2005, would enjoy a 5-year exemption from the TICGN, calculated from the date on which the installation entered into service.

19. Subsequently, Article 266 quinquies was amended ( 8 ) to provide (in Article 266 quinquies C) a continuing exemption from the TICGN (from 1 January 2006 onwards) for production of electricity, with the exception of installations subject to Article 266 quinquies A.

20. Article 266 quinquies was amended once more, ( 9 ) with retroactive effect from 1 January 2006, to provide (in Article 266 quinquies A) that producers could renounce their right to exemption under Article 266 quinquies A (and thus benefit from Article 266 quinquies C) to the extent that they were not the beneficiaries of an electricity contract related to modernisation and development of the public electricity supply. ( 10 )

21. At the same time, Article 266 quinquies A was amended to provide that the 5-year exemption it contained would cover installations that were operable no later than 31 January 2007.

22. It appears to be common ground between the parties that renunciation of the exemption in Article 266 quinquies A could not take place once the 5-year period, calculated from when the installation become operable, had expired, irrespective of whether any exemption had in fact been obtained under that provision.

23. For the sake of completeness, I note that it was only after the relevant period in the present case — namely, in 2011 — that renunciation of the exemption in Article 266 quinquies A was removed as a pre-condition for access to the exemption in Article 266 quinquies C. ( 11 )

Taxation of electricity

24. During the relevant period, no national tax on electricity was applied in France. The consumption of electricity was subject only to the ‘contribution au service public de l’électricité’ (contribution to the public electricity service), commonly referred to as the ‘CSPE’, a levy that was fiscal in nature. ( 12 )

25. The referring court has indicated that, in addition to the CSPE, entities producing electricity were required to pay local taxes, but that those taxes applied only to electricity delivered to final consumers, not to electricity produced for own use (with which the present case is concerned).

26. For the sake of completeness, I note that it was only after the relevant period in the present case — namely, in 2010 — that a law was adopted to reorganise the electricity market (with effect from 1 January 2011) in compliance with Directive 2003/96. ( 13 ) That law introduced a national tax on the final consumption of electricity. It also amended Article 266 quinquies C so as to provide an exemption for small producers of electricity, defined as producers generating less than 240 million kilowatt hours per production site.

Facts, procedure and the questions referred

27. For the purpose of its paper-making business, UPM France operates an installation for the combined generation of heat and electricity using natural gas as a fuel. The electricity thereby produced is in turn used in a further process producing heat.

28. The gas supplied to UPM France during the relevant period (from 2004 to 2006) was subject to the TICGN, as provided for in Article 266 quinquies of the French Customs Code. ( 14 )

29. It appears from the order for reference that UPM France’s installation had commenced operation too early to qualify for the 5-year exemption in Article 266 quinquies A, but that it would otherwise have qualified for that exemption. Because that 5-year period, calculated from when the installation become operable, had expired, UPM France was unable to renounce its (putative) entitlement to exemption under Article 266 quinquies A. It could not, therefore, obtain the benefit of the continuing exemption provided for by Article 266 quinquies C. ( 15 )

30. UPM France considered, on the basis of Article 14(1)(a) of Directive 2003/96, that it should have been granted exemption from TICGN for the proportion of its gas consumption that was used to produce electricity used in its own subsequent production processes. Accordingly, it brought a claim before the tribunal administratif de Cergy-Pontoise (Administrative Court, Cergy-Pontoise, France), seeking repayment of the sum of EUR 2962 224.08, together with statutory interest and compound interest thereon, as partial reimbursement of the TICGN paid during the period from 1 January 2004 to 31 March 2008, and also as compensation for the damage that UPM France considered that it had suffered as a result of the French Republic’s delay in transposing Directive 2003/96.

31. By judgment of 17 July 2013, the tribunal administratif de Cergy-Pontoise (Administrative Court, Cergy-Pontoise) held that there was no need to adjudicate, as regards the sum of EUR 137931, for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 March 2008. The court rejected the remainder of UPM’s claim for the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006. That period is the period at issue during the subsequent proceedings which led to the present reference. ( 16 )

32. By judgment of 15 March 2016, the cour administrative d’appel de Versailles (Administrative Court of Appeal, Versailles, France) dismissed the appeal brought by UPM France against that judgment on the grounds that the TICGN could not be portioned out depending on whether the gas in question had been used to produce electricity or heat; and that any exemption would be regulated only by Article 15 of Directive 2003/96.

33. UPM France further appealed to the referring court on 17 May 2016. It requested that court to set aside the judgment of the cour administrative d’appel de Versailles (Administrative Court of Appeal, Versailles), and to hold the State additionally liable in the amount of EUR 5000 pursuant to Article L-761-1 of the Administrative Justice Code, ( 17 ) which concerns the allocation of costs.

34. UPM France further requested, in the alternative, that the court should make a reference for preliminary ruling to this Court, or (as a further alternative) that the appeal should be joined with a preceding appeal pending before the referring court, in which a reference had been made (‘Cristal Union’), ( 18 ) so as to submit additional questions to the Court and to make it possible for UPM France to submit observations.

35. On 7 March 2018, the Court gave judgment in Cristal Union. It held that ‘the compulsory exemption provided for in that provision [Article 14(1)(a) of Directive 2003/96] applies to energy products used for electricity generation, when such products are used for the combined generation of electricity and heat within the meaning of Article 15(1)(c) of that directive’. ( 19 )

36. Notwithstanding that judgment, the referring court was of the view that questions still remained concerning the correct interpretation of Directive 2003/96. It considered that the cour administrative d’appel de Versailles (Administrative Court of Appeal, Versailles) had erred in law by holding that taxation of the natural gas which UPM France used for the combined production of heat and electricity was covered exclusively by Article 15 of Directive 2003/96. The referring court therefore stayed proceedings and referred the following questions: ‘(1) Must Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96 be interpreted as meaning that the tax exemption which that provision allows Member States to grant to small producers of electricity, provided that they tax the energy products used for the production of that electricity, may apply in circumstances such as those described in paragraph 7 of the present decision for the period prior to 1 January 2011 during which France, as was permitted by the Directive, had not yet introduced the domestic tax on final consumption of electricity or, accordingly, the exemption of small producers from that tax? (2) If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, how must Article 14(1)(a) and Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96 be combined as regards small producers which consume the electricity that they produce for the purposes of their business? Specifically, do those articles require that there be a minimum level of taxation resulting from either (i) the electricity produced being taxed and the natural gas used being exempted from tax, or (ii) the production of electricity being exempt from tax and the State then being required to tax the natural gas used?’

37. UPM France, the French Republic, the Kingdom of Spain and the European Commission submitted written observations and presented oral argument at the hearing on 14 March 2019.

Assessment

Admissibility

38. The French Government submits that the questions referred are inadmissible. Article 18(10), second subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96 provides that during the relevant period, from 2004 to 2006 (and indeed until 1 January 2009), France benefited from a transitional period to adjust existing legislation. As the Court explained in Messer France, ‘until 1 January 2009, compliance with the minimum rates of taxation laid down in that directive was, in the context of rules on the taxation of electricity laid down by EU law, the only obligation incumbent on the French Republic’. ( 20 )

39. I have some sympathy for the position taken by the French Government. However, I note that the issue of admissibility was not addressed in either of the preceding judgments (Messer France and Cristal Union), ( 21 ) which were given in reply to questions submitted by the same referring court concerning Directive 2003/96.

40. Furthermore, it follows from the established case-law of the Court that it is for the national judge to decide on the relevance of a reference, and that the Court should only refuse to answer questions that are obviously irrelevant to the national case. ( 22 )

41. I will therefore first consider whether during the transitional period there were obligations upon France, stemming from the Directive, which could provide a sufficient basis to justify submission of the questions referred. ( 23 )

Transitional period

42. The implementation period for the Directive laid down by Article 28(1) expired on 31 December 2003. Until that date, the Member States were merely required ‘to refrain, during the period laid down therein for its implementation, from adopting measures liable seriously to compromise the result prescribed’. ( 24 )

43. The fact that France failed fully to implement the Directive by the end of the specific transitional period that it had been granted by Article 18(10) of the Directive (which expired on 1 January 2009 and thus subsequent to the relevant period in the present case) ( 25 ) is likewise irrelevant.

44. It may be argued that the obligations on a Member State during a transitional period should be the same as during an implementation period; and that accordingly France was required to refrain from adopting measures liable seriously to compromise the result prescribed. ( 26 )

45. However, the issue at stake here is not whether France during the transitional period had adopted measures that could compromise the subsequent full implementation of the Directive. It is whether France during that period had failed to observe obligations imposed upon it by the Directive.

46. At the hearing, the Commission submitted that although Article 18(10), second subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96 provided France with a special transitional period, that did not exempt France from respecting the structural balance of Directive 2003/96, which requires that the production of electricity must be taxed either at the level of inputs or at the level of outputs. France was thus required to respect certain provisions of the Directive so as to ensure, on the one hand, that the minimum rates of taxation were achieved; and, on the other hand, that the prohibition on taxation of energy products in Article 14(1)(a) was observed.

47. The Commission argued that that approach was confirmed by Cristal Union, in which the Court had provided an interpretation of Articles 14 and 15 of the Directive for the period that was otherwise covered by the transitional arrangement for France. ( 27 ) In this connection, I note that the Court established in Flughafen Köln/Bonn ( 28 ) that Article 14(1)(a) ‘has direct effect in the sense that it may be relied upon by an individual before national courts’.

48. However, in my opinion the Commission’s approach is not borne out by the text of the Directive.

49. It is true that in many respects a comprehensive system of taxation that must be applied either to inputs or outputs would constitute a logical approach to the taxation of energy products and electricity. However, the Commission has failed to identify any substantive provision in the Directive that lays down that approach as an overriding principle.

50. Accordingly, additional obligations incumbent on the Member States even during an implementation period or a transitional period cannot in my opinion be deduced from the structural balance of the Directive.

51. Rather, I note that although Directive 2003/96 concerns the taxation of both energy products and electricity, the wording of Article 18(10), second subparagraph, is limited to providing a transitional period where France may maintain its ‘current electricity taxation system’. At the hearing, the French Government argued that the reference to a ‘system’ must read as comprising both taxation of the electricity produced (outputs) and taxation of energy products and electricity used for the production of electricity (inputs).

52. Despite that reference to a ‘system’, however, Article 18(10), second subparagraph, also specifically states that during the transitional period ‘the global average level of the current local electricity taxation is to be taken into account to assess whether the minimum rates set out in this Directive are respected’ (emphasis added). The referring court has explained ( 29 ) that during the period in question, local electricity taxation only applied to electricity as an output in the form of delivery to final consumers. Electricity produced for own use was exempted from such taxation.

53. Accordingly, it seems clear that Article 18(10), second subparagraph, should be read as referring only to the taxation of electricity as an output, and not to taxation of energy products and electricity used as inputs. The preparatory works for Directive 2003/96 ( 30 ) likewise provide no basis for France’s argument that the scope of Article 18(10), second subparagraph, comprise both input and output taxation.

54. In such circumstances, the Court should apply its well- established principle of interpretation, whereby any provision that ‘lays down an exception to the general rule must be interpreted restrictively’. ( 31 )

55. Directive 2003/96 has several layers. Article 1 prescribes taxation of both energy products and electricity. Article 14(1)(a) then provides a ‘mandatory exemption’ from such taxation for energy products and electricity that are used as inputs for the production of electricity. ( 32 )

56. Article 14(1)(a) itself and Article 21(5), third subparagraph, then contain further optional derogations from that mandatory exemption. These are the subject of the questions referred.

57. It seems to me that in this multi-layered arrangement, the mandatory exemption in Article 14(1)(a) must (in its capacity as an exemption) be given a restrictive interpretation. At the same time, however, it must be regarded as the general rule in relation to the further provisions providing for the possibility of derogating from that mandatory exemption. Applying that logic, the transition arrangement in Article 18(10), second subparagraph, must in principle be regarded as an exception to the main rules of the Directive (those main rules thus including both Article 1 and the mandatory exemption in Article 14(1)(a)). It must therefore be given a restrictive interpretation.

58. Against that background, I observe that Article 18(10), second subparagraph, provides for a transitional period for France during which there is an exemption for the existing electricity tax, and furthermore that explicit reference is made to the local electricity tax in that Member State which, during the period in question, was an output tax. It follows that Article 18(10) did not provide any exemption, during the transitional period, from the prohibition in Article 14(1)(a) on input tax on energy products and electricity used to produce electricity.

59. Therefore, the transitional period provided for in Article 18(10), second subparagraph, does not operate so as to protect an input tax on energy products, such as the TICGN in the present case.

60. That reading accords with the Court’s judgment in Messer France, which held that compliance with the minimum rates of taxation laid down in Directive 2003/96 ‘was, in the context of rules on the taxation of electricity laid down by EU law, the only obligation incumbent on the French Republic’. ( 33 )

61. It may be suggested that it would be inconsistent for France to be granted a transitional period in relation to the taxation of electricity as an output, but not in relation to the taxation of energy products and electricity as inputs for the production of electricity.

62. However, where application of a restrictive interpretation may appear to make a transitional arrangement less than perfect, the risk of such a result must in my opinion remain with the party that was to benefit from the transitional arrangement. That must especially be the case where the restrictive interpretation serves to promote fundamental principles of EU law.

63. The aim of Directive 2003/96, as stated in its second recital, is to support the ‘proper functioning of the internal market’. That objective would not be served if one Member State were to be permitted to tax energy products and electricity used for the production of electricity whilst other Member States were subject to a prohibition on such taxation. Accordingly, any exemption from that prohibition would need to be explicitly stated in the transitional arrangement.

64. In KappAhl, ( 34 ) the Court examined a transitional accession scheme for Finland in relation to customs duties to be applied to third country products, which allowed Finland to impose higher customs rates than those contained in the EU Customs Code. The Finnish Government argued that it must therefore similarly be able to apply the difference in customs rates to third country products when these were imported to Finland via other EU Member States — otherwise, the transition scheme could openly be circumvented.

65. However, the text of the transition scheme there at issue did not indicate that it could be applied to trade between the Member States. The Court held that ‘given the importance of the principle of free movement of goods between Member States, a derogation, even if temporary, must be granted clearly and unambiguously’. ( 35 )

66. Here, the derogation contained in the transitional arrangement under Article 18(10), second subparagraph, only contains a ‘clear and unambiguous’ reference to ‘electricity taxation’. It makes no reference to the use of energy products and electricity for the production of electricity.

67. On that basis, I consider that during the transitional period provided for by Article 18(10), second subparagraph, France remained bound by the provisions of Directive 2003/96 that concern the taxation of energy products and electricity used for the production of electricity. Accordingly, the questions referred (which concern the interpretation of Articles 14(1)(a) and 21(5), third subparagraph) require to be answered.

Question 1

68. By its first question, the referring court essentially asks whether Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96 applies during the transitional period provided for by Article 18(10), second subparagraph, so as to allow France — notwithstanding the mandatory exemption in Article 14(1)(a) — to tax the energy products used by small producers to produce electricity, in circumstances in which those producers are not subject to taxation on the electricity that they produce.

69. It is clear from the legislative background that, during the period from 2004 to 2006, entities producing electricity for their own use were required to pay the CSPE as a fiscal contribution to the public electricity service. The local tax on electricity applied only to the delivery of electricity to final consumers, and not to the production of electricity for own use. ( 36 )

70. It is also clear that a national tax on electricity was introduced in France only with effect from 1 January 2011 — that is, two years after the end of the transitional period in Article 18(10), second subparagraph. ( 37 )

71. The question may therefore be reframed as follows: given that (i) no national tax on electricity existed during the period in question; (ii) the CSPE appears to have been regarded as a fiscal contribution rather than a tax; and (iii) local taxes on electricity did not apply to production of electricity for own use, are those facts taken together sufficient to fulfil the requirements of Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of the Directive, thus permitting France to tax energy products used for the production of electricity for own use by small producers?

72. In my opinion, the answer is no.

73. For the reasons that I have given, ( 38 ) the mandatory prohibition on taxation of energy products and electricity used as inputs for the production of electricity in Article 14(1)(a) must be regarded as one of the general rules of the Directive. Accordingly, the optional derogation from that mandatory exemption contained in Article 21(5), third subparagraph, must be given a restrictive interpretation.

74. Thus, Article 21(5), third subparagraph, can be applied only where national law provides for such an exemption from taxation of the electricity output for own use by small producers. In the present case, however, no such exemption was granted for small producers between 2004 and 2006. Rather, all producers were required to pay a fiscal contribution to the public electricity service; and all producers were exempt from payment of local taxes on electricity that they produced for their own use.

75. In this connection, it is irrelevant whether the fiscal contribution to the public electricity service would in itself fall to be classified as a tax under Directive 92/12, which forms the basis for the classification of taxes under Directive 2003/96, as explained in recital 33 of the latter. ( 39 ) The fact remains that the French Government had made no provision prior to 1 January 2011 for electricity production for own use by small producers to enjoy an exemption. ( 40 ) Accordingly, prior to that date, Article 21(5), third subparagraph, could not be applied.

76. Furthermore, a derogation from a mandatory exemption in the Directive may only be applied where it has duly been implemented. Article 21 was not implemented in France prior to 2011. ( 41 ) It follows that for this supplementary reason the derogation in Article 21 could not be relied upon during the preceding period.

77. In similar vein, in Flughafen Köln/Bonn the Court pointed out that Article 14(1)(a), second and third sentences, ‘is merely a potential limitation to the exemption rule, and a Member State which has not exercised that option cannot rely on its own failure to do so in order to refuse a taxpayer the benefit of an exemption which he may legitimately claim under Directive 2003/96’. ( 42 )

78. I therefore propose that the answer to the first question should be that Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96, as a derogation from the mandatory exemption in Article 14(1)(a), must be given a restrictive interpretation. Accordingly, it may be relied upon only where electricity is subject to general taxation, in accordance with Directive 92/12, and where an exemption for production for own use by small producers has been established in national law that is in conformity with Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96.

79. As a final comment, I observe that the French Customs Code during the period concerned appears to have offered certain mechanisms for exempting producers from payment of the TICGN. Whether those exemptions would be sufficient to fulfil the requirements of the prohibition in Article 14(1)(a) would be a matter for the national court to decide. However, I note that the exemptions in the French Customs Code appear to be subject to time limitations that are not present in Article 14(1)(a) of the Directive.

Question 2

80. By its second question, the referring court essentially asks how Articles 14(1)(a) and 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96 are to be interpreted so as to avoid a conflict of norms between those provisions as they apply to small producers that consume the electricity that they produce.

81. In reality, Article 14(1)(a) encompasses two separate provisions. The first sentence lays down one of the general (mandatory) rules of Directive 2003/96: when energy products and electricity serve as inputs for the production of electricity, they should not be taxed.

82. The second and third sentences contain an entirely different provision. Taken together, they provide for a derogation on environmental grounds from that mandatory exemption from taxation for energy products used as inputs. If use is made of that derogation to tax input energy products, the resulting taxation is not subject to or counted towards the minimum levels of taxation to be achieved under Directive 2003/96.

83. The interpretative difficulties arise because Article 21(5), third subparagraph (concerning production for own use by small producers), has been drafted as an optional derogation using only the generic cross-reference ‘notwithstanding Article 14(1)(a)’, without specifying to which parts of Article 14(1)(a) this derogation relates. Greater precision and clarity in the drafting would unquestionably have been helpful.

84. That said, as a matter of logic the derogation in Article 21(5), third subparagraph, can refer only to the first sentence of Article 14(1)(a) (the mandatory prohibition on taxation of energy products and electricity as inputs for the production of electricity). The second and third sentences of Article 14(1)(a) contain a derogation from that mandatory exemption which forms an alternative to the derogation in Article 21(5), third subparagraph.

85. Neither the text of Directive 2003/96 nor its recitals and preparatory works provide guidance on how those two derogations from the mandatory exemption are meant to interrelate. ( 43 )

86. In my opinion, it follows directly from the conditions surrounding the two derogations that they cannot be considered to be in conflict. The environmental exclusion in Article 14(1)(a) may be applied to all producers; and the resulting tax proceeds fall outwith the scope of Directive 2003/96, as they do not count towards the calculation of minimum levels of taxation for the purposes of the Directive. The exemption for small producers in Article 21(5) applies only to production for own use; and the resulting tax proceeds fall within the scope of the Directive and count towards the calculation of the minimum levels of taxation.

87. That reading is further supported by the Court’s ruling in Cristal Union, which held that ‘in addition, it should be noted that, when the EU legislature intended to allow Member States to derogate from that regime of mandatory exemption, it did so explicitly in, respectively, the second sentence of Article 14(1)(a) of Directive 2003/96, which states that Member States may tax energy products used to produce electricity for reasons relating to the protection of the environment, and in the third subparagraph of Article 21(5) of that directive, under which Member States which exempt electricity generated by small producers of electricity must tax the energy products used for the generation of that electricity’. ( 44 )

88. I therefore propose that the answer to the second question should be that Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96, as a derogation from the mandatory exemption from taxation in Article 14(1)(a), first sentence, is independent of the environmental derogation from that exemption provided for by Article 14(1)(a), second and third sentences. Whilst taxes applied to small producers under Article 21(5), third subparagraph, are subject to the minimum levels of taxation in Directive 2003/96, taxes applied under the environmental derogation in Article 14(1)(a) are not subject to those minimum levels of taxation.

Conclusion

89. I propose that the Court should give the following answer to the questions referred for a preliminary ruling by the Conseil d’État (Council of State, France): (1) Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the [EU] framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity, as a derogation from the mandatory exemption in Article 14(1)(a), first sentence, must be given a restrictive interpretation. Accordingly, it may be relied upon only where electricity is subject to general taxation, in accordance with Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products, and where an exemption for production for own use by small producers has been established in national law that is in conformity with Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96. (2) Article 21(5), third subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96, as a derogation from the mandatory exemption from taxation in Article 14(1)(a), first sentence, is independent of the environmental derogation from that exemption provided for by Article 14(1)(a), second and third sentences. Whilst taxes applied to small producers under Article 21(5), third subparagraph, are subject to the minimum levels of taxation in Directive 2003/96, taxes applied under the environmental derogation in Article 14(1)(a) are not subject to those minimum levels of taxation.

( 1 ) Original language: English.

( 2 ) OJ 2003 L 283, p. 51. Directive 2003/96 replaced both Council Directive 92/81/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on mineral oils (OJ 1992 L 316, p. 12), as amended most recently by Directive 94/74/EC (OJ 1994 L 365, p. 46), and Council Directive 92/82/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral oils (OJ 1992 L 316, p. 19), as amended most recently by Directive 94/74. See recital 1 and Article 30 of Directive 2003/96.

( 3 ) OJ 1992 L 76, p. 1, as subsequently repealed by Council Directive 2008/118/EC of 16 December 2008 concerning the general arrangements for excise duty and repealing Directive 92/12 (OJ 2009 L 9, p. 12).

( 4 ) Of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ 1987 L 256, p. 1). See Article 2(5) of Directive 2003/96, which provides that references in the Directive to ‘codes of the combined nomenclature shall be to those of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2031/2001 of 6 August 2001, amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff’ (OJ 2001 L 279, p 1). The Annex to Regulation No 2658/87 has been amended on several occasions during the period covered by the present proceedings, but those amendments are without relevance to the scope of the present reference.

( 5 ) Article 18(2) further provides that ‘notwithstanding the periods set out in paragraphs 3 to 12 and provided that this does not significantly distort competition, Member States with difficulties in implementing the new minimum levels of taxation will be allowed a transitional period of until 1 January 2007, particularly in order to avoid jeopardising price stability’. However, France has not suggested in the present case that it places reliance on that provision.

( 6 ) Se point 30 below.

( 7 ) Article 37 of Loi No 2002-1576 du 30 décembre 2002 de finances rectificative pour 2002 (Law No 2002-1576 on budget adjustment for 2002).

( 8 ) Loi No 2005-1719 du 30 décembre 2005 de finances pour 2006 (Law No 2005-1719 of 30 December 2005 on budget for 2006), and Loi No 2005-1720 du 30 décembre 2005 de finances rectificative pour 2005 (Law No 2005-1720 of 30 December 2005 on budget adjustment for 2005).

( 9 ) Loi No 2007-1824 du 25 décembre 2007 de finances rectificative pour 2007 (Law No 2007-1824 of 25 December 2007 on budget adjustment for 2007), Article 62.

( 10 ) Loi No 2000-108 du 10 février 2000 relative à la modernisation et au développement du service public de l'électricité (Law No 2008-108 of 10 February 2000 on modernisation and development of the public electricity service), Articles 10 and 50.

( 11 ) Loi No 2011-900 du 29 juillet 2011 de finances rectificative pour 2011 (Law No 2011-900 of 29 July 2011 on budget adjustment for 2011), Article 17.

( 12 ) Loi No 2000-108, du 10 février 2000, relative à la modernisation et au développement du service public de l’électricité (Law No 2000-108 of 10 February 2000 on the modernisation and development of the public electricity service), as amended by loi No 2003-8, du 3 janvier 2003, relative aux marchés du gaz et de l’électricité et au service public de l’énergie (Law No 2003-8 of 3 January 2003 on gas and electricity markets and the public energy service). See paragraphs 12 to 13 of judgment of 25 July 2018, Messer France, C‑103/17, EU:C:2018:587.

( 13 ) Loi No 2010-1448 du 7 décembre 2010 portant nouvelle organisation du marché de l’électricité (Law No 2010-1488 of 7 December 2010 reorganising the electricity market of 7 December 2010).

( 14 ) See point 17 above.

( 15 ) The reader may wish to refer back to points 18 to 22 above to refresh his memory of the (labyrinthine) national provisions which produce this result.

( 16 ) It appears from the order for reference that the limitation of the relevant period to 2004-2006 was not contested or overruled in the subsequent appeal.

( 17 ) Ordonnance 2000-387 of 4 May 2000.

( 18 ) See judgment of 7 March 2018, Cristal Union, C‑31/17, EU:C:2018:168.

( 19 ) Judgment of 7 March 2018, Cristal Union, C‑31/17, EU:C:2018:168, paragraph 46.

( 20 ) Judgment of 25 July 2018, C‑103/17, EU:C:2018:587, paragraph 23. The remainder of that judgment deals with the interpretation of Article 3(2) of Council Directive 92/12.

( 21 ) Judgments of 25 July 2018, C‑103/17, EU:C:2018:587, and of 7 March 2018, C‑31/17, EU:C:2018:168.

( 22 ) Judgment of 8 September 2010, Winner Wetten, C-409/06, EU:C:2010:503, paragraph 36 and the case-law cited

( 23 ) Judgment of 28 March 1995, Kleinwort Benson, C‑346/93, EU:C:1995:85, paragraphs 22 to 24.

( 24 ) Judgment of 18 December 1997, Inter-Environnement Wallonie, C‑129/96, EU:C:1997:628, paragraph 50.

( 25 ) Judgment of 25 October 2012, Commission v France, C‑164/11, not published, EU:C:2012:665.

( 26 ) See footnote 24 above.

( 27 ) Judgment of 7 March 2018, C‑31/17, EU:C:2018:168, paragraph 46.

( 28 ) Judgment of 17 July 2008, C‑226/07, EU:C:2008:429, paragraph 39.

( 29 ) See point 25 above.

( 30 ) Proposal for a Council Directive restructuring the [EU} framework for the taxation of energy products, COM(97) 30 final — CNS 97/0111 (OJ 1997 C 139, p. 14) and the explanatory memorandum provided thereto.

( 31 ) Judgment of 30 March 2006, Smits-Koolhoven, C‑495/04, EU:C:2006:218, paragraph 31.

( 32 ) Judgment of 7 March 2018, Cristal Union, C‑31/17, EU:C:2018:168, paragraph 27, as well as judgment of 27 June 2018, Turbogás, C‑90/17, EU:C:2018:498, paragraph 45.

( 33 ) Judgment of 25 July 2018, C‑103/17, EU:C:2018:587, paragraph 23, emphasis added.

( 34 ) Judgment of 3 December 1998, C-233/97, EU:C:1998:585.

( 35 ) Judgment of 3 December 1998, KappAhl, C-233/97, EU:C:1998:585, paragraph 21.

( 36 ) See points 24 and 25 above.

( 37 ) See point 26 above.

( 38 ) See point 57 above.

( 39 ) See point 8 above.

( 40 ) See point 26 above.

( 41 ) See footnote 11 above.

( 42 ) Judgment of 17 July 2008, C‑226/07, EU:C:2008:429, paragraph 32, emphasis added.

( 43 ) See footnote 30 above.

( 44 ) Judgment of 7 March 2018, C‑31/17, EU:C:2018:168, paragraph 27, emphasis added.