Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 22 February 2001 in Case C-187/99 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo): Fazenda Pública v Fábrica de Queĳo Eru Portuguesa Lda (Inward processing relief arrangements — Regulation (EEC) No 1999/85 — Rate of yield of the processing operation — Authorisation issued by the competent customs authority — Power of that authority unilaterally to alter the rate of yield)
Date: 2001-06-16
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: customs regulations, interpretation of the law, inward processing, production

16.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 173/11

services acquired by the transferor in order to effect the transfer have
a direct and immediate link with a clearly defined part of his economic
activities, so that the costs of those services form part of the overheads
of that part of the business, and all the transactions relating to that
part of the business are subject to value added tax, he may deduct all
the value added tax charged on his costs of acquiring those services.

(1) OJ C 1 of 4.1.1999.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 22 February 2001

in Joined Cases C-52/99 and C-53/99 (reference for a
preliminary ruling from the Cour du Travail de Liège
(Belgium)): Office National des Pensions (ONP) v Giocon-
da Camarotto (C-52/99), Giuseppina Vignone (C-53/99) (1)

(Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, as amended by
Regulation (EEC) No 1248/92 — Social security Insurance
relating to old age and death — Calculation of benefits —
Changes to the rules governing calculation of benefits)

1. Article 95a of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council
of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes
to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members
of their families moving within the Community, as amended by
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1248/92 of 30 April 1992,
laying down transitional provisions for application of Regu-
lation No 1248/92, applies to recipients of pensions who,
before the date of entry into force of the amendments introduced
by the latter regulation, had already brought proceedings before
a national court seeking to obtain the right to the pension
by contesting the application of the national rules against
overlapping, even if a final decision in those proceedings had
not yet been given at the time of the entry into force of the new
provisions.

2.

It is for the national court to determine, first, whether its
national law requires an application for review to be made
either to the competent social security institution within the
period prescribed and in accordance with the relevant formal
requirements, or to the court itself according to the applicable
rules of procedure. Second, it is for that court to ensure that
those requirements are not less favourable than those governing
similar situations under domestic law and that they are not
such as to render impossible in practice or excessively difficult
the exercise of the rights conferred on claimants by Regulation
No 1408/71, as amended by Regulation No 1248/92.

(1) OJ C 100 of 10.4.1999.

(2001/C 173/17)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Language of the case: French)

(Second Chamber)

of 22 February 2001

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

in Case C-187/99 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo): Fazenda Pu´ blica v
Fa´brica de Queijo Eru Portuguesa Lda (1)

In Joined Cases C-52/99 and C-53/99: reference to the Court
under Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from
the Cour du Travail de Liège (Higher Labour Court, Liège) for
a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
court between Office National des Pensions (ONP) and Giocon-
da Camarotto (C-52/99), Giuseppina Vignone (C-53/99) — on
the interpretation of Article 95a of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social
security schemes to employed persons,
to self-employed
persons and to members of their families moving within the
Community (OJ, English Special Edition 1971 (II), p. 416), as
amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1248/92 of 30 April
1992 (OJ 1992 L 136, p. 7) — the Court (Fifth Chamber),
composed of: A. La Pergola, President of
the Chamber,
D.A.O. Edward (Rapporteur) and P. Jann, Judges; S. Alber,
Advocate General; H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for the
Registrar, has given a judgment on 22 February 2001,
in
which it has ruled:

(Inward processing relief arrangements — Regulation (EEC)
No 1999/85 — Rate of yield of the processing operation —
Authorisation issued by the competent customs authority —
Power of that authority unilaterally to alter the rate of yield)

(2001/C 173/18)

(Language of the case: Portuguese)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-187/99: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the the Supremo

C 173/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16.6.2001

Tribunal Administrativo (Supreme Administrative Court) (Por-
tugal) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
before that court between Fazenda Pu´ blica and Fa´brica de
Queijo Eru Portuguesa Lda, intervener Ministério Pu´ blico — on
the interpretation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1999/85 of
16 July 1985 on inward processing relief arrangements
(OJ 1985 L 188, p. 1) and, in particular, Article 11 thereof —
the Court (Second Chamber), composed of: V. Skouris, Presi-
dent of the Chamber, R. Schintgen (Rapporteur) and N. Colne-
ric, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar,
has given a judgment on 22 February 2001, in which it has
ruled:

1. Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1999/85 of
16 July 1985 on inward processing relief arrangements is to
be interpreted as applying not only to the conditions or
requirements for the issue of an authorisation under the inward
processing relief arrangements but also to the conditions
imposed by the authorisation on its holder for the use or
functioning of
the
customs authority may unilaterally alter the rate of yield fixed
by it at the time when the authorisation was issued where, while
the arrangements are being used, the rate of yield proves to be
higher than the rate fixed in the authorisation.

those arrangements and, consequently,

2. Neither Regulation No 1999/85 nor the principle of legal
certainty precludes the customs authority from altering unilat-
erally a rate of yield fixed by it in the authorisation even if it is
proved that the customs authority was supervising and con-
trolling the activities of the holder of the authorisation before it
was issued.

(1) OJ C 204 of 17.7.1999.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber)

of 6 March 2001

in Case C-278/98: Kingdom of the Netherlands v Com-
mission of the European Communities (1)

(EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — 1994 — Cereals, beef
and veal)

(2001/C 173/19)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-278/98: Kingdom of
the Netherlands (Agents:
M.A. Fierstra and N. Wijmenga) v Commission of the European

Communities (Agent: H. van Vliet) — application for partial
annulment of Commission Decision 98/358/EC of 6 May
1998 on the clearance of the accounts presented by the
Member States in respect of the expenditure for 1994 of the
Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund (OJ 1998 L 163, p. 28), in so far as it disallows
expenditure of NLG 16 378 716,63 incurred by the applicant
in connection with the prefinancing of export refunds — the
Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: C. Gulmann, President
of the Chamber, V. Skouris, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and
F. Macken (Rapporteur), Judges; S. Alber, Advocate General;
H.A. Rühl, Registrar, has given a judgment on 6 March 2001,
in which it:

1. Dismisses the application;

2. Orders the Kingdom of the Netherlands to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 299 of 26.9.1998.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 6 March 2001

in Case C-273/99 P: Bernard Connolly v Commission of
the European Communities (1)

(Appeal — Officials — Disciplinary proceedings — Suspen-
sion — Statement of reasons — Alleged misconduct —
Articles 11, 12 and 17 of the Staff Regulations — Equal
treatment)

(2001/C 173/20)

(Language of the case: French)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-273/99 P: Bernard Connolly, a former official of
the Commission of the European Communities, residing in
London, United Kingdom, represented by J. Sambon and
P.-P. van Gehuchten, avocats, with an address for service in
Luxembourg, appeal against the judgment of the Court of First
Instance of the European Communities (First Chamber) of
19 May 1999 in Case T-203/95 Connolly v Commission
[1999] ECR-SC I-A-83 and II-443, seeking to have that