2003/288/EC: Commission Decision of 23 April 2003 concerning a request for exemption from the vehicle tax submitted by Denmark pursuant to Article 6(2)(b) of Council Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (notified under document number C(2003) 1263)
Date: 2003-04-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Denmark, carriage of goods, commercial vehicle, leisure park, performing arts, tax exemption, transport infrastructure, vehicle tax

L 104/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.4.2003

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 23 April 2003

concerning a request for exemption from the vehicle tax submitted by Denmark pursuant to
Article 6(2)(b) of Council Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the
use of certain infrastructures

(notified under document number C(2003) 1263)

(Only the Danish text is authentic)

(2003/288/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of
heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (1),
and in particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

According to Article 6(2)(b) of Directive 1999/62/EC,
Member States may apply reduced rates or exemptions
for vehicles which travel only occasionally on the public
roads of the Member State of registration and are used
by natural or legal persons whose main occupation is
not the carriage of goods, provided that the transport
operations carried out by these vehicles do not cause
distortions of competition. This reduction or exemption
is subject to the Commission's agreement.

Denmark has requested the Commission to agree on the
exemption from the vehicle tax according to Directive
1999/62/EC for vehicles of 12 tonnes or more, which
are used exclusively in connection with amusement park
and circus activities in Denmark.

The conditions foreseen by Article 6(2)(b) of Directive
1999/62/EC are fulfilled, as these vehicles only occasion-
ally travel on the public roads taking into account that

(1) OJ L 187, 20.7.1999, p. 42.

this activity is mainly for the summer period and even
then the transport is only used to get the circus or
amusement park equipment from one town to another,
with several weeks in between the journeys, as these
vehicles have as registered owner an amusement park or
a circus, whose main activity is not to carry goods, as
these vehicles do not cause distortion of competition
because they cannot be used for carriage of any goods
other than those of the amusement parks or circuses
used for their own activity and furthermore as these
vehicles are clearly marked as being used for
this
purpose.

(4)

The agreement should be given for a limited time.

(5)

The exemption requested by Denmark should therefore
be approved,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Commission hereby gives its agreement to exempt until 31
December 2009 from vehicle tax in accordance with Article
6(2)(b) of Directive 1999/62/EC vehicles of 12 tonnes or more,
which are used exclusively in connection with amusement park
and circus activities in Denmark.

25.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 104/41

This Decision is addressed to Denmark.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 23 April 2003.

For the Commission

Loyola DE PALACIO

Vice-President