Case C-115/13: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 10 April 2014  — European Commission v Hungary (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages — Directive 92/83/EEC — Setting rates of excise duty — Customised production of ethyl alcohol in a distillery subject to a rate of excise duty equal to 0 — Exemption from excise duty for the production of ethyl alcohol by private individuals)
Date: 2014-04-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Hungary, alcohol, beverage industry, excise duty, infringement of EU law, raw material, supply, tax exemption








C_2014175EN.01001301.xml










10.6.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 175/13





Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 10 April 2014 — European Commission v Hungary
(Case C-115/13) (1)

((Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages - Directive 92/83/EEC - Setting rates of excise duty - Customised production of ethyl alcohol in a distillery subject to a rate of excise duty equal to 0 - Exemption from excise duty for the production of ethyl alcohol by private individuals))
2014/C 175/14
Language of the case: Hungarian

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: C. Barslev and A. Sipos, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Hungary (represented by: M. Z. Fehér, K. Szíjjártó and K. Molnár, acting as Agents)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement of Articles 19 to 21 of Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages (OJ 1992 L 316, p. 21) read in conjunction with Article 22(7) of that directive, and Article 3(1) of Council Directive 92/84/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates of excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages (OJ 1992 L 316, p. 29) — Setting excise duties — Customised production of ethyl alcohol in a distillery subject to a rate of excise duty equal to 0 — Exemption from excise duty for the production of ethyl alcohol by private individuals

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1)


Declares that by adopting and implementing legislation which provides that, under the conditions defined by that legislation, the customised production of ethyl alcohol in a distillery shall be subject to a rate of excise duty equal to 0 and that the production of ethyl alcohol by private individuals is exempt from excise duty, Hungary failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 19 to 21 of Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, as amended by the of the Act concerning the conditions of accession to the European Union of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, read in conjunction with Article 22(7) of that directive and with Article 3(1) of Council Directive 92/84/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates of excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages.










2)


Orders Hungary to pay the costs.






(1)  OJ C 129 of 4.5.2013