Case C-416/14: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Commissione Tributaria Regionale di Mestre-Venezia (Italy) lodged on 3 September 2014 — Fratelli De Pra SpA and SAIV SpA v Agenzia Entrate — Direzione Provinciale Ufficio Controlli Belluno and Agenzia Entrate — Direzione Provinciale Ufficio Controlli Vicenza
Date: 2014-09-03
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: broadcasting, regulation of telecommunications, telecommunications equipment, trade licence, transmission network, waveband








C_2014431EN.01001201.xml










1.12.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 431/12





Request for a preliminary ruling from the Commissione Tributaria Regionale di Mestre-Venezia (Italy) lodged on 3 September 2014 — Fratelli De Pra SpA and SAIV SpA v Agenzia Entrate — Direzione Provinciale Ufficio Controlli Belluno and Agenzia Entrate — Direzione Provinciale Ufficio Controlli Vicenza
(Case C-416/14)
(2014/C 431/19)
Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Commissione Tributaria Regionale di Mestre-Venezia

Parties to the main proceedings


Appellants: Fratelli De Pra SpA and SAIV SpA

Respondents: Agenzia Entrate — Direzione Provinciale Ufficio Controlli Belluno and Agenzia Entrate — Direzione Provinciale Ufficio Controlli Vicenza

Questions referred







1.


With regard to terminal equipment for a terrestrial mobile radio communication service, are the following provisions of national legislation compatible with EU law (Directives 1999/5/EC, (1) 2002/19/EC, (2) 2002/20/EC, (3) 2002/21/EC (4) and 2002/22/EC (5)):






—


Article 2(4) of Decree-Law No 4/2014 (subsequently converted into Law No 50/2014);










—


Article 160 of Legislative Decree No 259/2003;










—


Article 21 of the Tariff annexed to Presidential Decree No 641/1972;




which, equating terminal equipment with radio stations, require a user to obtain a general authorisation and to be issued with a special licence for a radio station, and deem those activities to be chargeable events?
Accordingly, with specific reference to the use of terminal equipment, is the obligation imposed by the Italian State on users to obtain a general authorisation and a licence for a radio station compatible with EU law when the placing on the market, the free movement and the putting into service of terminal equipment is already comprehensively governed by EU instruments (Directive 1999/5/EC) which do not lay down any requirement for general authorisation and/or for a licence?
Additionally, are the general authorisation and the licence required under national legislation compatible with EU law despite the following facts:






—


a general authorisation is a measure which is not for a user of terminal equipment, but rather for businesses involved in the provision of electronic communications networks and services (Articles 1, 2 and 3 of Authorisation Directive 2002/20/EC);










—


a licence is intended to grant individual rights to use radio frequencies and to use numbers, which are clearly not related to the use of terminal equipment;










—


the EU legislation does not impose any obligation to obtain a general authorisation or to be issued with a licence for terminal equipment;










—


Article 8 of Directive 1999/5/EC provides that Member States ‘shall not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market and putting into service in their territory of apparatus bearing the CE marking’;










—


a radio station is different — in substantive terms and in terms of its mode of regulation, as well as by its very nature — from terminal equipment for a terrestrial mobile radio communication service?














2.


Are the following provisions of national legislation compatible with EU law (Directive 1999/5/EC and Directive 2002/20/EC, in particular Article 20 thereof):






—


Article 2(4) of Decree-Law No 4/2014 (subsequently converted into Law No 50/2014);










—


Article 160 of Legislative Decree No 259/2003;










—


Article 21 of the Tariff annexed to Presidential Decree No 641/1972;










—


Article 3 of Ministerial Decree No 33/1990;




on the basis of which






—


the contract referred to in Article 20 of Directive 2002/22/EC — established between a manager and a user, designed to regulate commercial relations between consumers or end users and one or more firms which provide the connection or services concerned — may ‘in itself’ constitute a document which is equivalent to a general authorisation and/or licence for a radio station, without any intervention, activity or supervision on the part of the public administrative authorities;










—


the contract must also include details of the type of terminal equipment and the corresponding certification (not provided for under Article 8 of Directive 1999/5/EC)?














3.


Are Article 2(4) of Decree-Law No 4/2014 (subsequently converted into Law No 50/2014), Article 160 of Legislative Decree No 259/2003 and Article 21 of the Tariff annexed to Presidential Decree No 641/1972, read together, compatible with EU law in providing that only one particular category of users — namely, anyone holding a contract technically referred to as ‘a subscription’ — is obliged to have a general authorisation and accordingly a licence for a radio station, while no general authorisation or licence is required in the case of other persons using electronic communications services on the basis of a contract, simply because their contract is referred to by a different name (pay-as-you-go or top-up service)?










4.


Does Article 8 of Directive 1999/5/EC preclude national legislation such as the provisions referred to in Article 2(4) of Decree-Law No 4/2014 (subsequently converted into Law No 50/2014), namely, Article 160 of Legislative Decree No 259/2003 and Article 21 of the Tariff annexed to Presidential Decree No 641/1972, which envisages:






—


administrative activity resulting in the grant of a general authorisation and licence for a radio station;










—


the payment of a government licence charge in connection with such activity;




that being conduct which could constitute a restriction on the putting into service, use and free movement of terminal equipment?






(1)  Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (OJ 1999 L 91, p. 10).

(2)  Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) (OJ 2002 L 108, p. 7).

(3)  Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) (OJ 2002 L 108, p. 21).

(4)  Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (OJ 2002 L 108, p. 33).

(5)  Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) (OJ 2002 L 108, p. 51).