Case C-484/08: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo (Spain) lodged on 10 November 2008 — Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid v Asociación de Usuarios de Servicios Bancarios (Ausbanc)
Date: 2008-11-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Spain, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, commercial contract, consumer, provision of services, remuneration of work

C 19/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

24.1.2009

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de
Première
on
11 November 2008 — Régie Communale Autonome du
Stade Luc Varenne v Belgian State — SPF Finances

de Mons

(Belgium)

Instance

lodged

(Case C-483/08)

(2009/C 19/27)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Tribunal de Première Instance de Mons

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Régie Communale Autonome du Stade Luc Varenne

Defendant: Belgian State — SPF Finances

Question referred

Does Article 10 of the 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 (1), preclude an interpre-
tation of national statutory provisions and an administrative
practice which consist in fixing the starting point for an action
for recovery of VAT, and therefore the date from which the
limitation period for that action is to be calculated, as the date
on which the VAT return is lodged in which the taxable person
claims a right to deduct?

(1) OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1.

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal
Supremo (Spain) lodged on 10 November 2008 — Caja de
Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid v Asociación de
Usuarios de Servicios Bancarios (Ausbanc)

Questions referred

1. Must Article 8 of Directive 93/13/EEC (1) of 5 April 1993
on unfair terms in consumer contracts be construed as
meaning that a Member State may provide in its legislation,
for the benefit of consumers,
the assessment as to
whether contractual terms are unfair is to be carried out also
in respect of terms which, pursuant to Article 4(2) of that
Directive, fall outside the scope of such an assessment?

that

2. Consequently, does Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13/EEC of
5 April 1993, read in conjunction with Article 8 thereof,
preclude a Member State from providing in its legislation, for
the benefit of consumers, that the assessment as to whether
contractual terms are unfair is to be carried out also in
respect of terms which relate to ‘the definition of the main
subject matter of the contract’ or to ‘the adequacy of the
price and remuneration, on the one hand, as against the
services or goods supplies in exchange’, even where those
terms are in plain, intelligible language?

3. Is an interpretation of Articles 8 and 4(2) of Directive 91/13
under which it is possible for a Member State to provide for
assessment by the courts as to whether contractual terms are
intelligible language and which
unfair, which are in plain,
define the main subject-matter of
the
adequacy of the price and remuneration, on the one hand, as
against the services or goods supplied in exchange, compa-
tible with Articles 2, 3(1)(g) and 4(1) EC?

the contract or

(1) OJ L 95, p. 29.

Action brought on 11 November 2008 — Commission of
the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain

(Case C-487/08)

(2009/C 19/29)

Language of the case: Spanish

(Case C-484/08)

(2009/C 19/28)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Applicant(s): Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: R. Lyal and I. Martinez del Peral Cagigal)

Referring court

Tribunal Supremo

Defendant(s): Kingdom of Spain

Form of order sought

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid

Defendant: Asociación de Usuarios de Servicios Bancarios
(Ausbanc)

— A declaration that, by giving different treatment to dividends
distributed to foreign and domestic
the
Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Article 56 EC and Article 40 of the EEA Agreement.

shareholders,

— Order the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.