ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
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1. Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax — Taxable persons — Persons providing services to the State under an employer-employee relationship — Excluded — Provider unaware of that relationship — Establishment of an invoice mentioning an amount of value added tax — Amount not to be so categorised — (Council Directive 77/388, Arts 2(1) and 4(1) and (4))

2. Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax — Adjustment of tax improperly invoiced — Amount mentioned as value added tax on an invoice following a mistake as to the categorisation of the service provided — Reimbursement of the amount not precluded by Article 21(1)(c) of Directive 77/388 — (Council Directive 77/388, Art. 21(1)(c))

Summary

1. The amount mentioned as value added tax on the invoice drawn up by a person providing services to the State may not be classified as value added tax where that person erroneously believes that he is providing those services as a self-employed person whilst in reality there is an employer-employee relationship.

In fact, such a person is not a " taxable person" within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the Sixth Directive 77/388 and, accordingly, under Article 2(1) thereof the services which that person provides are not subject to VAT.

see paras 40, 42, operative part 1

2. Article 21(1)(c) of Sixth Directive 77/388, under which value added tax is liable to be paid if it is mentioned on an invoice or other document serving as such, does not preclude reimbursement of an amount mentioned in error by way of value added tax on an invoice or other document serving as invoice where the services at issue are not subject to value added tax and the amount invoiced cannot therefore be classified as value added tax.

see para. 53, operative part 2
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Agriculture — Approximation of laws on health policy — Financing of health inspections and controls of fresh meat — Directive 85/73 — Fee levels — Cutting operations — Standard additional amount — Calculation — Criteria — (Council Directive 85/73, Annex I, Chapter I, point 2, first indent (a))

Summary

Annex A, Chapter I, point 2, indent (a), to Directive 85/73 on the financing of veterinary inspections and controls covered by Directives 89/662, 90/425, 90/675 and 91/496, as amended and consolidated by Council Directive 96/43, must be interpreted as meaning that the standard additional amount laid down by that provision to cover the cost of the controls and inspections connected with cutting operations is payable for all meat entering the cutting plant, irrespective of whether it is actually cut in that cutting plant.

see para. 29, operative part
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Approximation of laws — Trade marks — Directive 89/104 — Limitation of the effects of a trade mark — Right of the proprietor of a trade mark to prevent the use by a third party of an indication of geographical origin entailing a likelihood of confusion with the trade mark — Condition — Use not in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters — To be determined by the national court — (Council Directive 89/104, Arts 5(1)(b) and 6(1)(b))

Summary

Article 6(1)(b) of First Directive 89/104 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks is to be interpreted as meaning that, where there exists a likelihood of aural confusion between a word mark registered in one Member State and an indication, in the course of trade, of the geographical origin of a product originating in another Member State, the proprietor of the trade mark may, pursuant to Article 5 of the directive, prevent the use of the indication of geographical origin only if that use is not in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters.

In that connection, it is for the national court to carry out an overall assessment of all the relevant circumstances. Where the trade mark and indication of geographical origin are used for the marketing of bottled drinks, the circumstances to be taken into account by that court would include in particular the shape and labelling of the bottle in order to assess, more particularly, whether the producer of the drink bearing the indication of geographical origin might be regarded as unfairly competing with the proprietor of the trade mark.

see paras 26-27, operative part
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Approximation of laws – Unfair terms in consumer contracts – Directive 93/13 – Unfair term under Article 3 – Meaning – Clause obliging the consumer to pay the full price before performance once a guarantee is provided – Assessment of unfair nature by the national court

(Council Directive 93/13, Art. 3)

Summary

It is for the national court to decide whether a contractual term in a building contract requiring the whole of the price to be paid before the performance by the seller or supplier of its obligations and provision by the latter of a guarantee satisfies the requirements for it to be regarded as unfair under Article 3(1) of Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts.

Although the Court may interpret general criteria used by the Community legislature in order to define the concept of unfair terms such as it appears in Directive 93/13, it should not, however, rule on the application of those general criteria to a particular term, which must be considered in the light of the particular circumstances of the case in question.

(see paras 22, 25, operative part)
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Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Dried fodder – Aid scheme – National rules imposing specific requirements with respect to green or fresh fodder for processing – Compatibility with the common organisation of the markets

(Council Regulation No 603/95; Commission Regulation No 785/95)

Summary

Regulation No 603/95 on the common organisation of the market in dried fodder, which establishes a system of flat-rate aid for certain products made from the processing of dried fodder, and Regulation No 785/95, laying down detailed rules for the application of that regulation, must be interpreted as meaning that they do not preclude national provisions which lay down specific requirements with respect to green or fresh fodder, linked to the method of delivery, the moisture content, the time within which processing must take place and the growth of such fodder within a specified area.

(see para. 26, operative part)
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1. Social policy – Male and female workers – Equal pay – Concept of pay – Benefit consisting in the taking into account for calculation of a termination payment of the duration of military service or compulsory civilian service – Included

(Art. 141 EC)

2. Social policy – Male and female workers – Equal pay – Article 141 EC and Directive 75/117 – Taking into account for calculation of a termination payment of the duration of periods of military service or the civilian equivalent performed mainly by men but not of parental leave taken generally by women – Whether permissible

(Art. 141 EC; Council Directive 75/117)

Summary

1. The benefit, for persons performing military service or, as an alternative, compulsory civilian service which may be extended voluntarily, consisting in the taking into account, for calculation of a termination payment they might subsequently be entitled to claim, of the duration of that service is to be regarded as part of their pay within the meaning of Article 141 EC.

(see para. 39, operative part 1)

2. Article 141 EC and Directive 75/117 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women do not preclude the calculation of a termination payment from taking into account, as length of service, the duration of periods of military service or the civilian equivalent performed mainly by men but not of parental leave taken most often by women.

(see para. 65, operative part 2)
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Citizenship of the European Union – Right to move and reside freely in the territory of the Member States – National legislation calculating the attachable part of a pension by deducting from that pension the national tax prepayment levied in that State – Failure to take account of the tax which the holder of such a pension must pay on it in the Member State where he resides – Not permissible – National legislation requiring the debtor to prove that the tax has in fact been paid in the other Member State before it can be taken into account – Whether permissible – Conditions

(Art. 18 EC)

Summary

Community law in principle precludes legislation of a Member State under which the attachable part of a pension paid at regular intervals in that State to a debtor is calculated by deducting from that pension the income tax prepayment levied in that State, while the tax which the holder of such a pension must pay on it subsequently in the Member State where he resides is not taken into account at all for the purposes of calculating the attachable portion of that pension.

On the other hand, Community law does not preclude such national legislation if it provides for tax to be taken into account, where taking the tax into account is made subject to the condition that the debtor prove that he has in fact paid or is required to pay within a given period a specified amount as income tax in the Member State where he resides. However, that is only the case to the extent that, first, the right of the debtor concerned to have tax taken into account is clear from that legislation; secondly, the detailed rules for taking tax into account are such as to guarantee to the interested party the right to obtain an annual adjustment of the attachable portion of his pension to the same extent as if such a tax had been deducted at source in the Member State which enacted that legislation; and, thirdly, those detailed rules do not have the effect of making it impossible or excessively difficult to exercise that right.

(see paras 35, 48, operative part 1-2)
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1. Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Milk and milk products – Additional levy on milk – National rules replacing rules held by the Court of Justice to be discriminatory – Retroactive application to production under the abolished scheme – Breach of the principles of legal certainty and non-retroactivity – None

(Council Regulations Nos 856/84 and 857/84)

2. Agriculture – Common agricultural policy – Objectives – Rational development of milk production and guarantee of a fair income for producers – Introduction of an additional levy on milk – Lawfulness

(Council Regulations Nos 856/84 and 857/84)

Summary

1. The general principles of Community law of legal certainty and non-retroactivity do not mean that, for the application of Community rules establishing production quotas of the type introduced by Regulations No 856/84, amending Regulation No 804/68 on the common organisation of the market in milk and milk products and No 857/84 adopting general rules for the application of the levy referred to in Article 5c of Regulation No 804/68, a Member State is precluded from adopting, in place of initial rules held by the Court of Justice to be discriminatory, new rules applying retroactively to production in excess of the production quotas introduced after the entry into force of those regulations, but in accordance with the national rules which have been replaced.

On the one hand, the aim pursued by such national rules requires that, for the purpose of implementing the arrangements for the additional levy on milk properly and effectively, the arrangements be applied retroactively. On the other hand, traders cannot expect that producers will not be subject to an additional levy on excess quantities of milk produced in excess of the quotas allocated to those producers.

(see paras 27, 32-33, 38, operative part)

2. The additional levy on milk provided for in Regulations No 856/84 amending Regulation No 804/68 on the common organisation of the market in milk and milk products and No 857/84 adopting general rules for the application of the levy referred to in Article 5c of Regulation No 804/68 is not to be regarded as a penalty analogous to those provided for under Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation No 536/93 laying down detailed rules on the application of the additional levy on milk and milk products.

In effect, it amounts to a restriction arising from market policy rules or structural policy, since it is to be considered to be intervention to stabilise agricultural markets and is to be used to finance expenditure in the milk sector. It follows that, apart from its obvious aim of requiring milk producers to observe the reference quantities allocated to them, the additional levy has an economic objective too, in that it is intended to bring to the Community the funds necessary for disposal of milk produced by producers in excess of their quotas.

(see paras 36-37)
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Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax – Common flat-rate scheme for farmers – Scope – Leasing of part of a farm – Exclusion

(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 25)

Summary

Article 25 of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, which confers on the Member States the right to apply a common flat-rate scheme to farmers where the application to them of the normal VAT scheme or the simplified tax scheme would give rise to difficulties, is to be interpreted as meaning that a farmer who has leased and/or let on a long-term basis some of the material assets of his farming business but continues to farm with the rest of his assets and who, in respect of the continued farming activity, is subject to the common flat-rate scheme provided for in that article may not treat the income from such a lease and/or letting as being taxable under that scheme. The turnover from that arrangement must be taxed under the normal VAT scheme or, where appropriate, the simplified scheme.

Application of the scheme is not dependent on satisfaction of a sole criterion, namely the formal status of farmer, but is reserved to farmers whose situation is covered by all the provisions of Article 25 of the Sixth Directive.

Letting can be included in the services referred to in that provision only if it concerns equipment that the farmer normally uses in farming his own agricultural land. It follows that the letting, leasing or creation of a usufructuary right by which a farmer transfers exclusive enjoyment of immovable property to another farmer, with the result that the latter may enjoy the fruits of that property, does not fall within the scope of Article 25, because the transferring farmer can then no longer regularly use the assets concerned. For the same reason, this must also apply in the case of the long-term letting of other objects of the farm to which the lessee has exclusive rights of enjoyment.

(see paras 27, 31, 34, 37, operative part)
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Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax – Exemptions laid down by the Sixth Directive – Exemption for certain transactions relating to aircraft used by airlines operating for reward chiefly on international routes – Scope – Transactions relating to aircraft operating domestic routes – Included – Concept of airlines operating chiefly on international routes – Assessment by the national courts

(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 15(6), (7) and (9))

Summary

The provisions of Article 15(6), (7) and (9) of Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes regarding the exemption from value added tax for certain transactions relating to aircraft used by airlines operating for reward chiefly on international routes must be interpreted as meaning that the supplies of goods and services referred to in those provisions to aircraft which operate on domestic routes but are used by those airlines are exempt from value added tax.

As regards the question whether an airline operates chiefly on international routes within the meaning of Article 15(6) that concept must be considered, in any event, as including a company whose operations on non-international routes are found to be considerably less extensive than its international activities. In that respect, it is for the national courts to assess the extent of the international business and the extent of the non-international business of that company. In doing so, they may take account of all information which indicates the relative importance of the type of operations concerned, in particular turnover.

(see paras 30, 39-40, operative part 1-2)
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1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Subject-matter of the proceedings – Specification in the pre-litigation procedure – Purely formal amendment of the grounds for complaint after the issue of the reasoned opinion because of an amendment to national legislation – Permissible

(Art. 226 EC)

2. Freedom of movement for persons – Freedom of establishment – Freedom to provide services – Architects – Recognition of diplomas and other evidence of formal qualifications – Obligation to provide a document attesting to compliance with the national provisions in question – Delayed processing by the national technical board of applications for registration of Community nationals not holding a national diploma – Not permissible

(Council Directive 85/384)

Summary

1. In an action for failure to fulfil obligations under Article 226 EC, the Commission’s reasoned opinion and its action must be based on identical grounds for complaint. That requirement cannot, however, go so far as to make it necessary that in every event the national provisions mentioned in the reasoned opinion and in the application should be completely identical. Where a change in the legislation occurred between those two phases in the procedure, it is sufficient that the system established by the legislation contested in the pre-litigation procedure has as a whole been maintained by the new measures which were adopted by the Member State after the issue of the reasoned opinion and have been challenged in the application.

(see para. 17)

2. A Member State which adopts and retains in force provisions which, among the conditions for obtaining authorisation to pursue the profession of architect, lay down the obligation to submit a certificate issued by the competent authorities of the person’s Member State of origin or of the State from which he comes, attesting that the diplomas or other evidence of formal qualifications submitted correspond to those provided for by the national provisions at issue, and accepts that the national technical board, with which a person must be registered in order to pursue the profession of architect, carries out with significant delays the processing of the files and the registration of Community nationals holding foreign diplomas which ought to be recognised under Directive 85/384 on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in architecture, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services, has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.

(see para. 18, operative part)
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Common customs tariff – Tariff headings – Chairmats – Classification in subheading 3918 10 90 of the Combined Nomenclature, concerning floor coverings and more specific than that concerning furniture

Summary

The Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Regulation No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended by Regulations Nos 1734/96, 2086/97, 2261/98 and 2204/99, must be construed as meaning that, in a dispute in which the parties disagree as to whether chairmats made of plastic of various shapes, specially designed to be placed on the floor beneath office chairs on wheels to facilitate their movement while also protecting the floor covering, come under subheading 3918 10 90 or subheading 9403 70 90, classification under the former subheading is to be preferred.

(see para. 26, operative part)
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1. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the rules on the implementation of Article 93 of the Treaty (now Article 88 EC) – Possible legitimate expectation on the part of recipients – Protection – Conditions and limits

(EC Treaty, Art. 93(3) (now Art. 88(3) EC))

2. Appeal – Grounds of appeal – Plea in law submitted for the first time in the appeal – Inadmissible

(Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58)

Summary

1. In view of the mandatory nature of the review of State aid by the Commission under Article 93 of the Treaty (now Article 88 EC), undertakings to which aid has been granted may not, in principle, entertain a legitimate expectation that the aid is lawful unless it has been granted in compliance with the procedure laid down in that article and a diligent businessman should normally be able to determine whether that procedure has been followed. In particular, where aid is paid without prior notification to the Commission, so that it is unlawful under Article 93(3) of the Treaty, the recipient of the aid cannot have at that time a legitimate expectation that its grant is lawful.

(see paras 44-45)

2. To allow a party to put forward for the first time before the Court of Justice a plea in law which it has not raised before the Court of First Instance would be to allow it to bring before the Court, whose jurisdiction in appeals is limited, a case of wider ambit than that which came before the Court of First Instance. In an appeal the Court’s jurisdiction is thus confined to review of the findings of law on the pleas argued before the Court of First Instance.

(see para. 59)
Case C-14/02





ATRAL SA

v

État belge





(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État (Belgium))

«(Free movement of goods – Alarm systems and networks – Interpretation of Articles 28 EC and 30 EC – Interpretation of Directives 73/23/EEC, 89/336/EEC and 1999/5/EEC – Compatibility of national legislation making marketing subject to a prior approval procedure)»

Opinion of Advocate General Geelhoed delivered on 12 December 2002 I - 0000

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 8 May 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Approximation of laws – Electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits Directive 73/23 – Electromagnetic compatibility – Directive 89/336 – Radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity – Directive 1999/5 – Complete harmonisation – National provisions making the placing on the market of alarm systems and networks, despite their conformity with the directive, subject to a prior approval procedure – Not permissible

(Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 1999/5, Arts 6 and 8; Council Directives 73/23, Art. 3, and 89/336, Art. 5)

2.. Free movement of goods – Quantitative restrictions – Measures having equivalent effect – National legislation imposing additional controls on goods lawfully manufactured and marketed in another Member State – Justification – Conditions and limits

(Arts 28 EC and 30 EC)

1.

2.
Case C-307/02





Commission of the European Communities

v

French Republic





«(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Directive 2000/21/EC – Labelling of dangerous substances – Failure to transpose)»

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber), 16 October 2003 I - 0000

Summary of the Judgment
Case C-77/02





Erika Steinicke

v

Bundesanstalt für Arbeit





(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen)

«(Social policy – Equal treatment for men and women – Scheme of part-time work for older employees – Directive 76/207/EEC – Indirect discrimination – Objective justification)»

Opinion of Advocate General Tizzano delivered on 3 April 2003

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 11 September 2003

Summary of the Judgment