Case C-197/03: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of  11 May 2006  — Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 69/335/EEC — Articles 10 and 12 — Indirect taxes on the raising of capital — Principles of Community law relating to recovery of undue payment)
Date: 2006-07-15
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Italy, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, company with share capital, indirect tax, redemption, tax harmonisation

15.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 165/1

I

(Information)

COURT OF JUSTICE

COURT OF JUSTICE

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 11 May 2006
— Commission of the European Communities v Italian
Republic

(Case C-197/03) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
69/335/EEC — Articles 10 and 12 — Indirect taxes on the
raising of capital — Principles of Community law relating to
recovery of undue payment)

making repayment of a tax held to be contrary to Community law
by a judgment of the Court, or whose incompatibility with Com-
munity law is apparent from such a judgment, subject to condi-
tions relating specifically to that tax which are less favourable than
those which would otherwise be applied to repayment of the tax in
question, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
under Articles 10 and 12(1)(b) of Council Directive 69/335/EEC
of 17 July 1969 concerning indirect
taxes on the raising of
capital and under the principles identified by the Court in relation
to recovery of undue payment;

(2006/C 165/01)

Language of the case: Italian

2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

3. Orders the Italian Republic to bear three quarters of the total costs
and the Commission of the European Communities to bear the
other quarter.

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: E. Traversa, Agent)

(1) OJ C 171, 19.07.2003.

Defendan):
Agent, and by M.P. Gentili, lawyer)

Italian Republic (represented by:

I.M. Braguglia,

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Breach of
Article 10(c) of Council Directive 69/335/EEC of 17 July 1969
concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital (OJ, English
Special Edition 1969(II), p. 412) — National law introducing
retrospectively flat-rate annual charges on the registration of
documents other than companies instruments of incorporation
and laying down a discriminatory and restrictive system for
reimbursement of the annual charge on registration of compa-
nies instruments of incorporation

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that, by introducing retroactive charges which do not
constitute duties paid by way of permitted fees or dues where the
registrations in the register of companies for which they are
charged have already given rise to charges for which the retroactive
charges are intended to be a substitute but which are not reim-
bursed to those who have paid them, or where those retroactive
charges relate to years in which no registration in the register was
made justifying their being levied, and by adopting provisions

Referring court

House of Lords

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 4 May 2006
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the House of
Lords (United Kingdom)) — Diane Barker v London
Borough of Bromley

(Case C-290/03) (1)

(Directive 85/337/EEC — Assessment of
the effects of
certain projects on the environment — Crystal Palace devel-
opment project — Projects falling within Annex II to Direc-
tive 85/337 — Grant of consent comprising more than one
stage)

(2006/C 165/02)

Language of the case: English