Case C-40/14: Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 20 November 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation — France) — Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, Chef de l’Agence de poursuites de la Direction nationale du renseignement et des enquêtes douanières, Direction régionale des douanes et droits indirects de Lyon v Utopia SARL (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Customs union and Common Customs Tariff — Importation free of customs duties — Animals specially prepared for laboratory use — Public establishment or an authorised private establishment — Importer whose customers are such establishments — Packing materials or packing containers — Cages used for transportation of animals)
Date: 2014-11-20
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: animal experimentation, common customs tariff, customs union, exemption from customs duties, transport of animals








C_2015026EN.01000801.xml










26.1.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 26/8





Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 20 November 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation — France) — Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, Chef de l’Agence de poursuites de la Direction nationale du renseignement et des enquêtes douanières, Direction régionale des douanes et droits indirects de Lyon v Utopia SARL
(Case C-40/14) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Customs union and Common Customs Tariff - Importation free of customs duties - Animals specially prepared for laboratory use - Public establishment or an authorised private establishment - Importer whose customers are such establishments - Packing materials or packing containers - Cages used for transportation of animals))
(2015/C 026/10)
Language of the case: French

Referring court

Cour de cassation

Parties to the main proceedings


Appellants: Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, Chef de l’Agence de poursuites de la Direction nationale du renseignement et des enquêtes douanières, Direction régionale des douanes et droits indirects de Lyon

Respondent: Utopia SARL

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 60 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 of 28 March 1983 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty, as amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, must be interpreted as meaning that, where animals specially prepared for laboratory use, which an importer brings into the European Union, are intended for a public establishment or an authorised private establishment which is principally engaged in education or scientific research, that importer, although it is not itself such an establishment, may be entitled to the relief from import duties provided for by that article for goods of this type.










2.


General rule 5(b) of the Combined Nomenclature contained in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003 of 11 September 2003, must be interpreted as meaning that cages used for transportation of live animals intended for laboratory research should not be categorised as packing materials or packing containers which are to be classified with the goods to which they relate.






(1)  OJ C 102, 7.4.2014.