Action brought on 18 March 2004 by Railion Deutschland AG against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-109/04)
Date: 2004-05-29
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, action for annulment (EU), carriage of goods, customs debt, fraud against the EU, rail transport, transport company

29.5.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 146/5

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

Action brought on 18 March 2004 by Railion Deutschland
AG against the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-109/04)

(2004/C 146/06)

(Language of the case: German)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 18 March 2004 by Raillion
Deutschland AG, Mainz (Germany), represented by H. Johlen,
lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

The applicant also claims that the decision infringes Article
239 of the Community Customs Code. The decision denies the
existence of ‘special circumstances’ on grounds that are irrele-
vant or are based on facts that are not
fully established.
Because of the simplification of rail transport procedures, the
applicant was exposed to greater risk of deception by fraud in
relation to the goods transported. It could not eliminate or
control that risk on its own. In particular, it was impossible in
practice to inspect the container.

Lastly, the applicant claims that when making an equitable
decision under Article 239 of the Community Customs Code it
was necessary to take into account the fact that no financial
loss was incurred by the European Communities and that at no
stage was this threatened, as the alcohol was destined for the
Czech market and was also delivered there.

— annul Commission Decision of 12 December 2003
C(2993)4660/F noting that a remission of import duties
was not justified in a particular case;

Action brought on 1 April 2004 by KM Europa Metal AG,
Tréfimétaux S.A. and Europa Metalli S.p.A. against the
Commission of the European Communities

— order the defendant to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments:

The applicant is an undertaking engaged in the transport of
goods by rail. The complaint is against the Commission deci-
sion refusing an application by the Federal Republic of
Germany for authority to allow a remission of customs debt in
favour of the applicant. The liability to pay the customs debt
arose because the applicant was alleged to have transported
alcohol declared as paint from the Bremen free zone to the
Hamburg free zone by rail. There was nothing to indicate to
the applicant that the declaration was false. After the goods
reached Hamburg, they were properly transported to their final
destination in the Czech Republic.

The applicant claims inter alia that the decision failed to satisfy
the essential procedural requirement of the right to be heard. It
is true that the applicant was given a formal opportunity to
state its position. However the right to be heard also requires
that the arguments of the parties be considered; in its decision
refusing the application the defendant did not deal with the
arguments submitted. The Commission failed to have regard to
the points made in relation to the different risks incurred by a
rail freight company and a shipping company in a free zone.
The Commission's decision was based on the premise that as a
rail
freight company the applicant would be dealt with in
exactly the same way as a shipping company.

(Case T-127/04)

(2004/C 146/07)

(Language of the case: English)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 1 April 2004 by KM Europa Metal
AG, Osnabruck (Germany), Tréfimétaux S.A., Courbevoie
Cedex (France), and Europa Metalli S.p.A., Florence (Italy),
represented by M. Siragusa, A. Winckler, G. Cesare Rizza, T.
Graf and M. Piergiovanni, lawyers.

The applicants claim that the Court should:

— substantially reduce the fine imposed on the applicants by
the decision of the Commission of the European Commu-
nities adopted on 16 December 2003 in Case COMP/E-l/
38.240

— order the Commission to pay the Applicants' legal fees and
expenses as well as the costs incurred by the Applicants in
providing a bank guarantee in lieu of payment of KME's
Fine pending judgment