Case C-510/07: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 17 July 2008 — Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directive 68/414/EEC — Article 1(1) — Obligation to maintain minimum stocks of petroleum products — Breach)
Date: 2008-07-17
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Belgium, European Commission, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, crude oil, minimum stock, petroleum product

30.8.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 223/17

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Dariusz Krawczyński

Defendant: Dyrektor Izby Celnej w Białymstoku

Re:

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 17 July 2008 —
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of
Belgium

(Case C-510/07) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directive
68/414/EEC — Article 1(1) — Obligation to maintain mini-
mum stocks of petroleum products — Breach)

(2008/C 223/27)

Language of the case: French

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Wojewódzki Sąd Adminis-
tracyjny w Białymstoku — Interpretation of Article 90 EC and
Article 33(1) 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) —
National legislation establishing excise duty charged on any sale
of a passenger car before its initial registration on national terri-
tory

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: G. Rozet and B. Schima, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium (represented by: C. Pochet,
Agent)

Re:

Operative part of the judgment

1. Article 33(1) 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, as amended by Council Directive
91/680/EEC of 16 December 1991, is to be interpreted as not
precluding an excise duty such as that provided for in Poland by the
Law on Excise Duty (ustawa o podatku akcyzowym) of 23 January
2004, which is charged on all sales of motor vehicles before their
first registration on national territory.

incorporated into the market

2. The first paragraph of Article 90 EC is to be interpreted as
precluding an excise duty, such as that at issue in the main procee-
dings, in so far as the amount of the duty imposed on the sale,
before their first registration, of second-hand vehicles imported from
another Member State exceeds the residual amount of the same
duty
vehicles
previously registered in the Member State which introduced that
duty. It is for the national court to examine whether the legislation
at issue in the main proceedings, and in particular the application
of Article 7 of
the Minister for Finance on the
lowering of
the rates of excise duty (rozporządzenie Ministra
Finansów w sprawie obniżenia stawek podatku akcyzowego) of
22 April 2004, has such an effect.

the Order of

value of

similar

to fulfil

a Member State

Failure of
its obligations —
Non-compliance with the obligation to stock petroleum
products under Article 1(1) of Council Directive 68/414/EEC of
20 December 1968 imposing an obligation on Member States
of the EEC to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or
petroleum products
I,
Chapter 1968 II, p. 586), as amended and then codified by
Council Directive 2006/67/EC of 24 July 2006 (OJ 2006 L 217,
p. 8) — Nature and extent of the obligation to stock — Discre-
pancy between the figures transmitted by the Member State
concerned and the data provided by Eurostat — Method of
calculating stocks of petroleum products and the level of
internal consumption of those products.

(OJ English Special Edition, Series

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that, by failing to adopt all such laws, regulations or
administrative provisions as may be appropriate to maintain within
the Community at all times the level of stocks of petroleum products
in the second category of petroleum products listed in Article 2 of
Council Directive 68/414/EEC of 20 December 1968 imposing
an obligation on Member States of the EEC to maintain minimum
stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, as amended by
Council Directive 98/93/EC of 14 December 1998, the Kingdom
of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 1(1) of
that directive;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 283, 24.11.2007.

(1) OJ C 22, 26.1.2008.