Case C-312/04: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 5 October 2006 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Communities' own resources — Undischarged TIR carnets — Procedures for collecting import duties — Non-compliance — Failure to transfer the related own resources and to pay default interest)
Date: 2006-12-02
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: CCT duties, European Commission, Member States' contribution, Netherlands, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, international road transport, own resources

C 294/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

2.12.2006

3) Article 59 of the EEC Treaty must be interpreted as not being
applicable in favour of a provider of services who is a national of
a non-member country.

(1) OJ C 228, 11.09.2004.

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 5 October 2006
— Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom
of the Netherlands

(Case C-312/04) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Commu-
nities' own resources — Undischarged TIR carnets — Proce-
dures for collecting import duties — Non-compliance —
Failure to transfer the related own resources and to pay
default interest)

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 5 October
2006 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Verwal-
tungsgerichtshof — Austria) — Transalpine Ölleitung in
Österreich GmbH, Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen GmbH,
Gerlitzen-Kanzelbahn-Touristik GmbH & Co KG v Finan-
Finanzlandesdirektion für
zlandesdirektion für Tirol,

Steiermark, Finanzlandesdirektion für Kärnten

(Case C-368/04) (1)

(State aid — Last sentence of Article 88(3) EC — Partial
rebate on energy taxes — Failure to give notice of the aid —
Commission decision — Declaration of the compatibility of
the aid with the common market in respect of a particular
period in the past — Effect on rebate applications made by
undertakings not benefiting from the aid — Powers of
national courts and tribunals)

(2006/C 294/13)

Language of the case: German

(2006/C 294/12)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Verwaltungsgerichtshof

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: G. Wilms and A. Weimar, Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of the Netherlands (represented by: H.G.
Sevenster and J.G.M. van Bakel, Agents)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Articles 2(1),
6(2), 10(1) and 11 of Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No
1552/89 of 29 May 1989 implementing Decision 88/376/EEC,
Euratom, on the system of the Communities' own resources (OJ
1989 L 155, p. 1) — Failure to initiate, within the period
prescribed, procedures for the collection of customs duties
further to irregularities in the transport of goods covered by
TIR carnets — Failure to transmit, within the period prescribed,
the related own resources and to pay the default interest

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to pay the

costs.

(1) OJ C 228, 11.09.2004.

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Transalpine Ölleitung in Österreich GmbH, Planai-
Hochwurzen-Bahnen GmbH, Gerlitzen-Kanzelbahn-Touristik
GmbH & Co KG

Defendants: Finanzlandesdirektion für Tirol, Finanzlandesdirek-
tion für Steiermark, Finanzlandesdirektion für Kärnten

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Verwaltungsgerichtshof
(Austria) — Interpretation of Article 88(3) EC — State aid
granted in breach of the prohibition on implementing aid prior
to the Commission's decision — Aid consisting in the partial
reimbursement of energy tax solely to businesses manufac-
turing goods — Effects of the Commission's subsequent deci-
sion declaring the aid compatible with the common market

Operative part of the judgment

1. The last sentence of Article 88(3) EC must be interpreted as
meaning that it is for the national courts to safeguard the rights
of individuals against possible disregard, by the national authori-
ties, of
the prohibition on putting aid into effect before the
Commission of the European Communities has adopted a decision
authorising that aid. In doing so, the national court must take the
Community interest fully into consideration and must not adopt a
measure which would have the sole effect of extending the circle of
recipients of the aid.