Case C-477/07: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van beroep te Antwerpen (Belgium) lodged on 29 October 2007 — N.V. Gerlach & Co v Belgische Staat
Date: 2007-11-02
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: customs debt, customs duties, customs regulations, interpretation of the law, management accounting, own resources

C 8/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.1.2008

Action brought on 22 October 2007 — Commission of the
European Communities v Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

(Case C-469/07)

(2008/C 8/10)

Language of the case: French

Parties

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

Defendant: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Form of order sought

The Commission of the European Communities claims that the
Court should:

— declare that, by failing to communicate the Community
design courts to the Commission,
the Grand Duchy of
its obligations under
failed to fulfil
Luxembourg has
Article 80(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of
12 December 2001 on Community designs (1);

— order the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has not fulfilled the obligation
laid down in Article 80(2) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, under
which each Member State is to communicate to the Commission
not later than 6 March 2005 a list of Community design courts,
indicating their names and their territorial jurisdiction.

(1) OJ 2002 L 3, p. 1.

lation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 (1); hereinafter
‘the customs code’) the entry in the accounts referred to in
Article 217 of
the customs code, which consists in the
amount of duty being entered by the customs authorities in
the accounting records or on any other equivalent medium,
and is that entry in the accounts to be distinguished from
the inclusion of the amount of duty in the accounts for own
resources as referred to in Article 6 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 (2) (now Article 6 of Council
Regulation 1150/2000 (EC, Euratom) of 22 May 2000
implementing Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom on the
system of the Communities' own resources (3))?

2. Is Article 221(1) of the customs code to be understood to
mean that notification of the amount of duty by the customs
authorities to the debtor in accordance with appropriate
procedures can be regarded as the communication of the
amount of duty to the debtor as referred to in Article 221(1)
of
the amount of duty has
previously been entered in the accounts by the customs
authorities?

the customs code only if

3. Is Article 221(1) of the customs code to be understood to
mean that, if the debtor is notified of the amount of duty by
in accordance with appropriate
the customs authorities
procedures but without the amount of duty being entered in
the accounts prior to the customs authorities' notification,
payment of the amount of duty cannot be demanded, as a
consequence of which, in order to obtain payment of the
amount of duty, the customs authorities must again notify
the debtor of the amount of duty in accordance with appro-
priate procedures after the amount of duty has been entered
in the accounts and provided that the entry in the accounts
occurs within the applicable limitation period?

(1) Regulation establishing the Community Customs Code OJ 1992

L 302, p. 1.

(2) OJ 1989 L 155, p. 1.
(3) OJ 2000 L 130, p. 1.

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van
lodged on 29 October
beroep te Antwerpen (Belgium)

2007 — N.V. Gerlach & Co v Belgische Staat

(Case C-477/07)

(2008/C 8/11)

Language of the case: Dutch

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank
's-Gravenhage (Netherlands) lodged on 2 November 2007
— AHP Manufacturing BV v Bureau voor de Industriële
Eigendom, also operating under the name Octrooicentrum
Nederland

Referring court

Hof van beroep te Antwerpen

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: N.V. Gerlach & Co

Defendant: Belgische Staat

Questions referred

(Case C-482/07)

(2008/C 8/12)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

1. Is the entry in the accounts referred to in Article 221(1) of
the Community Customs Code (established by Council Regu-

Rechtbank 's-Gravenhage