Case C-517/07: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 18 December 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) — United Kingdom) — Afton Chemical Limited v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (Directive 92/81/EEC — Excise duty on mineral oils — Article 2(2) and (3) and Article 8(1)(a) — Directive 2003/96/EC — Taxation of energy products and electricity — Article 2(2), (3) and (4)(b) — Scope — Fuel additives which are mineral oils or energy products but are not used as motor fuel — National taxation regime)
Date: 2008-12-18
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: United Kingdom, adjuvant, fuel, interpreting, motor fuel, tax system

C 44/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.2.2009

French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their
common borders (OJ 2000 L 239, p. 19) — Interpretation of
‘ne bis in idem’ principle — Scope — Decision by which a
police authority terminates criminal proceedings

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

The ne bis in idem principle enshrined in Article 54 of the Convention
implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the
Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal
Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition
of checks at their common borders, signed in Schengen (Luxembourg)
on 19 June 1990, does not fall to be applied to a decision by which
an authority of a Contracting State, after examining the merits of the
case brought before it, makes an order, at a stage before the charging
of a person suspected of a crime, suspending the criminal proceedings,
where the suspension decision does not, under the national law of that
State, definitively bar
further prosecution and therefore does not
preclude new criminal proceedings, in respect of the same acts, in that
State.

(1) OJ C 22, 26.1.2008.

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 18 December
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the High
Court of Justice (Chancery Division) — United Kingdom)
— Afton Chemical Limited v Commissioners for Her
Majesty's Revenue and Customs

(Case C-517/07) (1)

(Directive 92/81/EEC — Excise duty on mineral oils —
Article 2(2) and (3) and Article 8(1)(a) — Directive
2003/96/EC — Taxation of energy products and electricity —
Article 2(2), (3) and (4)(b) — Scope — Fuel additives which
are mineral oils or energy products but are not used as motor
fuel — National taxation regime)

(2009/C 44/33)

Language of the case: English

Referring court

High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: Afton Chemical Limited

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — High Court of Justice
(Chancery Division) — Interpretation of Articles 2(3) and 8(1)
of Council Directive 92/81/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the
harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on mineral oils
(OJ 1992 L 316, p. 12), Articles 2(3) and 4(b) of Council Direc-
tive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Com-
munity framework for the taxation of energy products and elec-
tricity (OJ 2003 L 283, p. 51) and Article 3 of Council Directive
92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements
for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, move-
ment and monitoring of such products (OJ 1992 L 76, p. 1) —
Mineral oils added to fuel for purposes other than increasing
the power of the vehicle but not intended to be sold or used as
fuel — To be taxed as motor fuel?

Operative part of the judgment

Article 2(3) and Article 8(1) of Council Directive 92/81/EEC of
19 October 1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise
duties on mineral oils, as amended by Council Directive 94/74/EC of
22 December 1994, as regards the period ending on 31 December
2003, and Article 2(3) and (4) of Council Directive 2003/96/EC of
27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the
taxation of energy products and electricity, as regards the period from
1 January to 31 October 2004, are to be interpreted as meaning that
fuel additives, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, which are
‘mineral oils’ within the meaning of Article 2(1) of Directive 92/81
or ‘energy products’ within the meaning of Article 2(1) of Direc-
tive 2003/96, but which are not intended for use, offered for sale or
used as motor fuel, must be made subject to the taxation regime
imposed by those directives.

(1) OJ C 22, 26.1.2008.

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 22 December
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Handels-
gericht Wien — Austria) — Friederike Wallentin-Hermann
v Alitalia — Linee Aeree Italiane SpA

(Case C-549/07) (1)

(Carriage by air — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — Article 5
— Compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of
cancellation of flights — Exemption from the obligation to
to extraordinary
pay compensation — Cancellation due
circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all
reasonable measures had been taken)

(2009/C 44/34)

Language of the case: German

Respondents: Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and
Customs

Referring court

Handelsgericht Wien