Order of the Court (First Chamber) of 19 January 2005 in Case C-206/03: (reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Chancery Division) Commissioners of Customs & Excise v SmithKline Beecham plc (Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Common customs tariff — Tariff headings — Nicotine patches — Force in law of a classification opinion of the World Customs Organisation)
Date: 2005-04-30
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: customs regulations, interpretation of the law, smoking, tariff nomenclature, toxic substance

C 106/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2005

ORDER OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

of 19 January 2005

2086/97, and to declare that goods must be classified otherwise
than in accordance with that classification opinion.

(1) OJ C 158 of 05.07.2003.

in Case C-206/03: (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Chancery
Division) Commissioners of Customs & Excise v Smith-
Kline Beecham plc (1)

(Article 104(3) of
the Rules of Procedure — Common
customs tariff — Tariff headings — Nicotine patches —
Force in law of a classification opinion of the World Customs
Organisation)

(2005/C 106/18)

(Language of the case: English)

In Case C-206/03: reference for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the High Court of Justice (England and
Wales), Chancery Division, (United Kingdom) made by decision
of 7 December 2000, received at the Court on 14 May 2003,
in the proceedings between Commissioners of Customs &
(First
Excise and SmithKline Beecham plc — the Court
Chamber), composed of P. Jann (Rapporteur), President of the
Chamber, N. Colneric, K. Schiemann, E. Juhász and E. Levits,
Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, made
an order on 19 January 2005, the operative part of which is as
follows:

1. Nicotine patches, such as those at issue in the main proceedings,
must be classed under heading 3004 of the Combined Nomencla-
to Council Regulation (EEC) No
ture, contained in Annex I
2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomencla-
ture and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2086/97 of 4 November 1997.

2. If a competent authority has issued incorrect binding tariff infor-
mation, a national court is required under Article 10 EC to take,
within the sphere of its competence, all the measures necessary to
ensure that that information is annulled and that new binding
tariff information, consistent with Community law, is issued.

In that context, the procedure for and the effects of the decisions
adopted by the national court hearing the action fall, within the
bounds set by the principles of equivalence and effectiveness, within
the ambit of domestic law.

In that regard, it is not contrary to Article 12(5) of Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the
Community Customs Code, as amended by Regulation (EC) No
82/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19
December 1996, for a national court to annul a decision of a
customs authority which, while it is consistent with a classification
opinion of the W.C.O., fails to take account of the Combined
Nomenclature contained in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2658/87, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No

ORDER OF THE COURT

(Second Chamber)

of 28 October 2004

in Case C-236/03 P Commission of the European Commu-
nities v CMA CGM and Others (1)

(Appeal — Cartels — Maritime transport between northern
Europe and the Far East — Fines — Limitation period —
clearly
Appeal partly

inadmissible and partly

clearly

unfounded)

(2005/C 106/19)

(Language of the case: English)

In Case C-236/03 P: appeal under Article 56 of the Statute of
the Court of Justice lodged at the Court on 2 June 2003 by the
Commission of the European Communities (Agent: P. Oliver),
the other parties to the proceedings being CMA CGM, estab-
lished in Marseilles (France), Evergreen Marine Corp. Ltd, estab-
lished in Taipei, (Taiwan), Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd, established
in Taipei, Hapag-Lloyd Container Linie GmbH, established in
Seoul (South Korea), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, established in
Tokyo (Japan), Malaysia International Shipping Corporation
Berhad, established in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Mitsui OSK
Lines Ltd, established in Tokyo, Neptune Orient Lines Ltd,
established in Singapore, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, established in
Tokyo, Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd, established in
Wanchai (China), P & O Nedlloyd Container Liner Ltd, estab-
lished in London, Yangming Marine Transport Corp., estab-
lished in Taipei, (lawyers: J. Pheasant and M. Levitt), Senator
Lines GmbH, formerly DSR-Senator Lines GmbH, established in
Bremen (Germany), (lawyers: J. Pheasant and M. Levitt, and D.
Waelbroeck and U. Zinsmeister), and Cho Yang Shipping Co.
Ltd, established in Seoul, in liquidation — the Court (Second
Chamber), composed of C.W.A. Timmermans (Rapporteur),
President of the Chamber, R. Silva de Lapuerta, R. Schintgen,
G. Arestis and J. Klučka, Judges; J. Kokott, Advocate General; R.
Grass, Registrar, made an order on 28 October 2004, the
operative part of which is as follows:

1. The appeal is dismissed;