Case C-206/06: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 17 July 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank Groningen — Netherlands) — Essent Netwerk Noord BV, Nederlands Elektriciteit Administratiekantoor BV, Aluminium Delfzijl BV v Aluminium Delfzijl BV, Staat der Nederlanden, Nederlands Elektriciteit Administratiekantoor BV, Saranne BV (Internal market in electricity — National legislation permitting the levy of a surcharge on the price for electricity transmission in favour of a statutorily-designated company which is required to pay stranded costs — Charges having equivalent effect to customs duties — Discriminatory internal taxation — Aid granted by the Member States)
Date: 2008-07-17
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: additional duty, electrical energy, electrical industry, electricity supply, interpretation of the law, liberalisation of the market

C 223/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.8.2008

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 17 July 2008
— Commission of the European Communities v Italian
Rebublic

2. Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 108, 6.5.2006.

(Case C-132/06) (1)

of a Member State

obligations —
(Failure
Article 10 EC — Sixth VAT Directive — Obligations under
domestic rules — Control of taxable transactions — Amnesty)

fulfil

to

(2008/C 223/05)

Language of the case: Italian

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 17 July 2008
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank
Groningen — Netherlands) — Essent Netwerk Noord BV,
Nederlands
BV,
Aluminium Delfzijl BV v Aluminium Delfzijl BV, Staat der
Nederlanden, Nederlands Elektriciteit Administratiekantoor
BV, Saranne BV

Administratiekantoor

Elektriciteit

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: E. Traversa and M. Afonso, Agents)

Defendant: Italian Rebublic (represented by: I. Braguglia, Agent
and G. De Bellis, avvocato dello Stato)

(Case C-206/06) (1)

(Internal market in electricity — National legislation permit-
ting the levy of a surcharge on the price for electricity trans-
mission in favour of a statutorily-designated company which
is required to pay stranded costs — Charges having equivalent
effect to customs duties — Discriminatory internal taxation
— Aid granted by the Member States)

(2008/C 223/06)

Language of the case: Dutch

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement
of Articles 2 and 22 of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of
17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member
States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1)
— Obligations under
law
waiving the verification of taxable transactions effected in the
course of a series of tax years

the internal system — National

Referring court

Rechtbank Groningen

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that, by providing in Articles 8 and 9 of Law No 289 of
27 December 2002 relating to the provisions for drawing up the
annual and pluriannual budget of
the State (Finance Law for
2003) (legge n. 289, disposizioni per la formazione del bilancio
annuale e pluriennale dello Stato (legge finanziaria 2003)) for a
general and indiscriminate waiver of verification of taxable transac-
tions effected in a series of tax years, the Italian Republic has failed
to fulfil its obligations under Articles 2 and 22 of Sixth Council
Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of
the laws of
taxes —
Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment,
and Article 10 EC.

the Member States relating to turnover

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Essent Netwerk Noord BV, Nederlands Elektriciteit
Administratiekantoor BV, Aluminium Delfzijl BV

Defendants: Aluminium Delfzijl BV, Staat der Nederlanden,
Nederlands Elektriciteit Administratiekantoor BV, Saranne BV

Re:

Preliminary ruling — Rechtbank Groningen — Interpretation of
legislation
Articles 25 EC, 87(1) EC and 90 EC — National
establishing a surcharge on the price of electricity and payable,
during a transitional period, to the net operator by consumers
established in the Netherlands — Obligation on the net operator

30.8.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 223/5

to pay that surcharge to a statutorily designated undertaking of
the national electricity generators for the purpose of defraying a
sum representing the amount of obligations incurred and invest-
ments made by that undertaking prior to liberalisation of the
market — Payment by that undertaking of any surplus to the
competent ministry

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 17 July 2008
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Unabhängiger
Finanzsenat Salzburg Aigen, Austria) — Schwaninger
Martin Viehhandel — Viehexport v Zollamt Salzburg,
Erstattungen

Operative part of the judgment

1. Article 25 EC is to be construed as precluding a statutory rule
under which domestic purchasers of electricity are required to pay to
their net operator a price surcharge on the amounts of domestic
and imported electricity which are transmitted to them, where that
surcharge is to be paid by that net operator to a company desig-
nated by the legislature, with that
company being the joint
subsidiary of the four domestic generating undertakings and having
previously managed the costs of all the electricity generated and
imported, and where that surcharge is to be used in its entirety to
pay non-market-compatible
company is
costs
personally responsible, with the result that the sums received by that
company wholly offset the burden borne by the domestic electricity
transmitted.

for which that

(Case C-207/06) (1)

(Regulation (EC) No 615/98 — Export refunds — Welfare of
live bovine animals during transport — Directive 91/628/EEC
— Applicability of the rules relating to the protection of
animals during transport — Rules relating to journey times
and rest periods and to the transportation of bovine animals
by sea to a destination outside of the Community — Feeding
and watering of the animals during the journey)

(2008/C 223/07)

Language of the case: German

The same applies where the national electricity generating undertak-
ings are required to bear those costs and where, by reason of
existing agreements, by the payment of a purchase price for electri-
city produced in the Member State, by the payment of dividends to
the various domestic electricity generating undertakings of which
the designated company is the subsidiary or by any other means,
the advantage which that price surcharge constitutes could be
passed on in its entirety by the designated company to the domestic
electricity generating undertakings.

Referring court

Unabhängiger Finanzsenat Salzburg Aigen

Parties to the main proceedings

Article 90 EC is to be construed as meaning that it precludes such
a statutory rule where the revenue from the charge levied on the
to pay non-market-
electricity transmitted is used only in part
compatible costs, that is to say where the amount levied by the
designated company only partly offsets the burden borne by the
national electricity transmitted.

Applicant: Schwaninger Martin Viehhandel — Viehexport

Defendant: Zollamt Salzburg, Erstattungen

2. Article 87 EC must be construed as meaning that the amounts
paid to the designated company under Article 9 of the Transitional
Law on the electricity generating sector (Overgangswet Elektriciteit-
sproductiesector) of 21 December 2000 constitute ‘State aid’ for
the purposes of that provision of the EC Treaty in so far as they
represent an economic advantage and not compensation for the
services provided by the designated company in order to discharge
public service obligations.

(1) OJ C 178, 29.7.2006.

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Unabhängiger Finanzsenat
(Austria) — Interpretation of Article 1 of Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 615/98 of 18 March 1998 laying down specific
detailed rules of application for the export refund arrangements
as regards the welfare of live bovine animals during transport
(OJ 1998 L 82, p. 19) and Chapter VII 48 point 7(a) and (b) of
the annex to Council Directive 91/628/EEC of 19 November
1991 on the protection of animals during transport and
amending Directives 90/425/EEC and 91/496/EEC (OJ 1991
L 340, p. 17) and the second indent of Article 5A point 2(d)(ii)
of that directive — Applicability of animal welfare legislation in
relation to journey times and rest periods when transporting