Judgment of the Court of 13 December 1973. - Hollandse Melksuikerfabriek v Hoofdproduktschap voor Akkerbouwprodukten. - Reference for a preliminary ruling: College van Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven - Netherlands. - Case 150-73.



European Court reports 1973 Page 01633

Greek special edition Page 00899

Portuguese special edition Page 00649



Parties

Subject of the case

Grounds

Decision on costs

Operative part



Parties

++++

IN CASE 150/73

REFERENCE TO THE COURT UNDER ARTICLE 177 OF THE EEC TREATY BY THE " COLLEGE VAN BEROEP VOOR HET BEDRIJFSLEVEN ", FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING IN THE ACTION PENDING BEFORE THAT COURT BETWEEN

HOLLANDSE MELKSUIKERFABRIEK, WITH REGISTERED OFFICE AT UITGEEST,

AND

HOOFDPRODUKTSCHAP VOOR AKKERBOUWPRODUKTEN, OF THE HAGUE,

Subject of the case

ON THE INTERPRETATION AND, IF APPLICABLE, THE VALIDITY OF REGULATION NO 204/69 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES OF 28 JANUARY 1969, LAYING DOWN GENERAL RULES FOR THE GRANT OF EXPORT REFUNDS ON CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED ... AND THE CRITERIA FOR FIXING THE AMOUNT OF SUCH REFUNDS,

Grounds

1 BY JUDGMENT OF 13 JULY 1973, FILED WITH THE REGISTRY ON 16 JULY 1973, THE COLLEGE VAN BEROEP VOOR HET BEDRIJFSLEVEN REFERRED UNDER ARTICLE 177 OF THE TREATY A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS TO THE COURT, CONCERNING THE INTERPRETATION AND, IF APPROPRIATE, THE VALIDITY OF REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 204/69 OF 28 JANUARY 1969, LAYING DOWN GENERAL RULES FOR GRANTING EXPORT REFUNDS FOR CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF GOODS NOT COVERED BY ANNEX II TO THE TREATY, AND THE CRITERIA FOR FIXING THE AMOUNT OF SUCH REFUNDS .

2 THE QUESTIONS REFERRED ARE IN PARTICULAR CONCERNED WITH THE INTERPRETATION THAT OUGHT TO BE GIVEN TO THE DESCRIPTIONS OF GOODS " OVALBUMIN AND LACTALBUMIN " AS THEY APPEAR IN SUBHEADING 35.02-A-II-A OF ANNEX C TO THAT REGULATION .

3 IT APPEARS FROM THE COURT RECORD THAT THE NATIONAL PROCEEDINGS ARE CONCERNED WITH THE QUESTION WHETHER THE COUNCIL BY USING THAT DESCRIPTION INTENDED TO PLACE LACTALBUMIN ON THE SAME FOOTING AS OVALBUMIN SO THAT THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSION FIXING THE REFUND FOR EGGS EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF OVALBUMIN WOULD LIKEWISE APPLY TO MILK EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF LACTALBUMIN .

4 THE EFFECT OF THE PROVISIONS OF REGULATION NO 204/69 MUST BE LOOKED FOR NOT IN ISOLATION BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COMPLETE SYSTEM IN THE MATTER OF EXPORT REFUNDS FOR MILK PRODUCTS NOT COVERED BY ANNEX II TO THE TREATY .

5 THE BASIC SYSTEM FOR THE MILK SECTOR, I.E . REGULATION NO 804/68 OF THE COUNCIL ( OJ L 148, 28 . 6 . 1968, P . 13 ) PROVIDES BY ARTICLE 17 ( 1 ) THE POSSIBILITY OF THE GRANT OF REFUNDS FOR MILK PRODUCTS COMING UNDER TARIFF HEADING 04.02 THAT ARE EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THE ANNEX, INTER ALIA LACTALBUMIN .

6 THE GENERAL RULES CONCERNING THE GRANT - AND THE FIXING OF THE AMOUNT - OF REFUNDS ARE, PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 17 ( 3 ), TO BE LAID DOWN BY THE COUNCIL .

7 THE REFUNDS ARE PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 17 ( 4 ), TO BE FIXED PERIODICALLY BY THE COMMISSION BY THE " MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE " PROCEDURE .

8 THE COUNCIL, BY ITS REGULATION NO 204/69, PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 17 ( 3 ) OF REGULATION NO 804/68 AND A NUMBER OF BASIC REGULATIONS FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL SECTORS, LAID DOWN GENERAL RULES FOR GRANTING EXPORT REFUNDS ON GOODS NOT COVERED BY ANNEX II TO THE TREATY .

9 THE AMOUNT OF THE REFUND IS, PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 2 OF THAT REGULATION TO BE OBTAINED BY MULTIPLYING TWO FACTORS, I.E . ON THE ONE HAND THE QUANTITY OF THE BASIC PRODUCTS LISTED IN ANNEX A, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE RATE OF REFUND ON THE RELEVANT BASIC PRODUCT .

10 AS REGARDS THE QUANTITY OF BASIC PRODUCTS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF THE GOODS INCLUDED IN ANNEX C, ARTICLE 3 LAYS DOWN THE FIXED QUANTITIES SPECIFIED IN THAT ANNEX .

11 AS REGARDS LACTALBUMIN AND OVALBUMIN THE ANNEX REFERS TO THE SAME FIXED QUANTITY OF EGGS IN SHELL .

12 ALTHOUGH THEREFORE THE PROVISIONS OF REGULATION NO 204/69 - AS GENERAL RULES - PRESCRIBE AN IDENTICAL METHOD OF CALCULATION, BY REFERENCE TO EGGS IN SHELL, FOR REFUNDS UPON EXPORT OF LACTALBUMIN AND OF OVALBUMIN, THEY CANNOT BE INTERPRETED AS GIVING RISE TO A CLAIM TO A REFUND .

13 A REFUND FOR MILK EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF LACTALBUMIN COULD BE GRANTED ONLY ON THE BASIS OF A REGULATION MADE BY THE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 17 ( 4 ) OF REGULATION NO 804/68 .

14 THE COMMISSION HAS CLEARLY NOT MADE SUCH A REGULATION .

15 ACCORDINGLY, WHILST THE COMMISSION HAS REPEATEDLY LAID DOWN A RATE OF REFUND FOR EGGS EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF OVALBUMIN, THIS DOES NOT GIVE RISE TO A CLAIM TO REFUND FOR MILK EXPORTED IN THE FORM OF LACTALBUMIN .

16 ACCORDINGLY, THE REPLY TO THE NATIONAL COURT MUST BE THAT THOUGH THE CRITERIA IN REGULATION NO EEC 204/69, AND IN PARTICULAR IN ANNEX C FOR CALCULATING THE AMOUNT OF EXPORT REFUNDS FOR OVALBUMIN REFER TO LACTALBUMIN, THIS DOES NOT IMPLY THAT THE PROVISION OF A REFUND AVAILABLE ON EXPORT OF OVALBUMIN EXTENDS ALSO TO EXPORT OF LACTALBUMIN, IN THE ABSENCE OF A SPECIAL PROVISION IN A REGULATION OF THE COMMISSION MADE UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF REGULATION NO 804/68 .

Decision on costs

17 THE COSTS INCURRED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, WHO SUBMITTED THEIR OBSERVATIONS TO THE COURT, ARE NOT RECOVERABLE AND AS THESE PROCEEDINGS ARE, INSOFAR AS THE PARTIES TO THE MAIN ACTION ARE CONCERNED, A STEP IN THE ACTION PENDING BEFORE THE NATIONAL COURT, THE DECISION AS TO COSTS IS A MATTER FOR THAT COURT .

Operative part

THE COURT

IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION REFERRED TO IT BY THE COLLEGE VAN BEROEP VOOR HET BEDRIJFSLEVEN, BY ORDER OF THAT COURT DATED 13 JULY 1973, HEREBY RULES :

ALTHOUGH THE CRITERIA IN REGULATION NO ( EEC ) 204/69, AND PARTICULARLY IN ANNEX C, FOR CALCULATING THE AMOUNT OF EXPORT REFUNDS FOR OVALBUMIN REFER TO LACTALBUMIN, THIS DOES NOT IMPLY THAT THE PROVISION OF A REFUND AVAILABLE ON EXPORT OF OVALBUMIN EXTENDS ALSO TO EXPORT OF LACTALBUMIN, IN THE ABSENCE OF A SPECIAL PROVISION IN A REGULATION OF THE COMMISSION MADE UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF REGULATION NO 804/68 OF THE COUNCIL .