Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 8 November 2001 in Case C-338/98: Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Articles 17(2)(a) and 18(1)(a) of the Sixth VAT Directive — National legislation allowing an employer to deduct, as input tax, a certain percentage of an allowance paid to an employee for business use of a private vehicle)
Date: 2002-01-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU law - national law, European Commission, Netherlands, VAT, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, tax relief

5.1.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 3/3

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

2. Orders the French Republic and the Commission of

the

European Communities to bear their own costs;

(Sixth Chamber)

3. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to bear its own costs.

of 13 November 2001

(1) OJ C 278 of 5.9.1998.

in Case C-277/98: French Republic v Commission of the
European Communities (1)

(EAGGF — Clearance of accounts — 1994 — Supplemen-
tary levy on milk — Disputes between those liable to the levy
and the competent national authorities — Proceedings before
national courts — Negative corrections applied to Member
States for supplementary levies not yet recovered)

(2002/C 3/03)

(Language of the case: French)

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

In Case C-277/98: French Republic (Agents: K. Rispal-Bellanger
and C. Vasak), supported by Kingdom of Spain (Agent: S. Ortiz
Vaamonde) v Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: G. Berscheid) — 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 applies to the
French Republic ‘negative corrections’ for sums in respect of
supplementary levies the recovery of which was being disputed
in proceedings pending before national courts at the date of
that decision — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of:
N. Colneric (Rapporteur), President of the Second Chamber,
acting for the President of the Sixth Chamber, C. Gulmann,
R. Schintgen, V. Skouris and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges;
S. Alber, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a
judgment on 13 November 2001, in which it:

1. Annuls 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
(EAGGF) in so far as it applies to the French Republic ‘negative
corrections’ for sums in respect of supplementary levies the
recovery of which was being disputed in proceedings pending
before national courts at the date of that decision;

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 8 November 2001

in Case C-338/98: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Kingdom of the Netherlands (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil
its obligations —
Articles 17(2)(a) and 18(1)(a) of the Sixth VAT Directive
— National legislation allowing an employer to deduct, as
input tax, a certain percentage of an allowance paid to an
employee for business use of a private vehicle)

(2002/C 3/04)

(Language of the case: Dutch)

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

In Case C-338/98: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: initially E. Mennens and E. Traversa, subsequently
E. Traversa and H.M.H. Speyart) v Kingdom of the Netherlands
(Agent: M.A. Fierstra, C. Wissels and J. van Bakel), supported
by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(Agent: M. Ewing, assisted by N. Pleming) — application for a
declaration that by providing, in breach of Articles 17(2)(a)
and 18(1)(a) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May
1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added
tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1), in the
version resulting from Council Directive 95/7/EC of 10 April
1995 amending Directive 77/388 and introducing new simpli-
fication measures with regard to value added tax — scope of
certain
for
implementing them (OJ 1995 L 102, p. 18), that an employer
who is a taxable person for the purposes of value added tax
may deduct part of an allowance paid to an employee for

arrangements

exemptions

practical

and

C 3/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

5.1.2002

business use of a private car, the Kingdom of the Netherlands
has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty — the
Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: S. von Bahr, President of
the Fourth Chamber, acting for the President of the Fifth
Chamber, D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola (Rapporteur),
M. Wathelet and C.W.A. Timmermans, Judges; C. Stix-Hackl,
Advocate General; H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the
Registrar, has given a judgment on 8 November 2001, in
which it:

1. Declares that by providing, in breach of Articles 17(2)(a) and
18(1)(a) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May
1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added
tax: uniform basis of assessment, in the version resulting from
Council Directive 95/7/EC of 10 April 1995 amending
Directive 77/388 and introducing new simplification measures
with regard to value added tax — scope of certain exemptions
and practical arrangements for implementing them, that an
employer who is a taxable person, for the purposes of value
added tax may deduct part of an allowance paid to an employee
for business use of a private car, the Kingdom of the Netherlands
has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty;

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

3. Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland to bear its own costs.

(1) OJ C 340 of 7.11.1998.

Republic (Agents: P. Mylonopoulos and N. Dafniou) —
application for a declaration that, by establishing and main-
taining a system for stocks of petroleum products which
directly links the facility to transfer the storage obligation to
refineries established in Greece to an obligation to obtain
supplies of petroleum products from those refineries, and by
prohibiting service stations from obtaining supplies from
refineries or from another Member State, the Hellenic Republic
has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the EC
Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC) — the Court
(Fifth Chamber), composed of: P.
the
Chamber, D.A.O. Edward (Rapporteur), A. La Pergola, L. Sevo´ n
and M. Wathelet, Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate
General; L. Hewlett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
a judgment on 25 October 2001, in which it rules:

Jann, President of

1.

By establishing and maintaining a system for the compulsory
maintenance of emergency stocks of petroleum products which
directly links the facility for companies which market those
products to transfer
their storage obligation to refineries
established in Greece to an obligation to obtain their supplies
of those products from those refineries, the Hellenic Republic
has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of the EC
Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC).

2.

The Hellenic Republic is ordered to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 397 of 19.12.1998.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 25 October 2001

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Third Chamber)

of 13 November 2001

in Case C-398/98: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Hellenic Republic (1)

in Case C-59/99: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Manuel Pereira Rolda˜ o & Filhos Ld.a, Instituto
Superior Técnico and King, Taudevin & Gregson (Hold-
ings) Ltd (1)

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations —
Article 30 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article
28 EC) — Obligation to maintain minimum stocks of
petroleum products)

(Arbitration clause — Reimbursement of advance payments
made under a contract terminated by the Commission for
non-performance)

(2002/C 3/05)

(Language of the case: Greek)

(2002/C 3/06)

(Language of the case: Portuguese)

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

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

In Case C-398/98: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: D. Triantafyllou and O. Couvert-Castéra) v Hellenic

In Case C-59/99: Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: initially F. de Sousa Fialho and O. Couvert-Castéra,