Case C-392/24, PPC Renewables Romania: Request for a preliminary ruling from Curtea de Apel București (Romania) lodged on 5 June 2024 – PPC Renewables Romania SRL v Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală, Direcția Generală de Administrare a Marilor Contribuabili, Guvernul României, Ministerul Finanțelor
Date: 2024-06-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU energy policy, electrical energy, energy production, energy transition, environmental protection, environmental tax, price of energy, renewable energy, tax exemption, tax law








C_202405600EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5600


30.9.2024






Request for a preliminary ruling from Curtea de Apel București (Romania) lodged on 5 June 2024 – PPC Renewables Romania SRL v Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală, Direcția Generală de Administrare a Marilor Contribuabili, Guvernul României, Ministerul Finanțelor


(Case C-392/24, PPC Renewables Romania)

(C/2024/5600)
Language of the case: Romanian

Referring court

Curtea de Apel București

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: PPC Renewables Romania SRL

Defendants: Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală, Direcția Generală de Administrare a Marilor Contribuabili, Guvernul României, Ministerul Finanțelor

Questions referred







1.


According to the interpretation of Article 2(1) and (2) and Article 4(2) of [Regulation] 2021/1119, (1) read in conjunction with Article 191(2) TFEU, which governs the essential nature of the transition of Member States to an energy system based on renewable sources and the importance of Community policy regarding the environment, does EU law preclude the Romanian State from imposing an additional tax obligation on producers of electricity from renewable sources, such as the levy payable to the Energy Transition Fund governed by Government Emergency Order No 27/2022?










2.


According to the interpretation of Article 3(1), (3) and (4) of Directive 2018/2001, (2) which governs the binding European Union objective of guaranteeing a share of energy from renewable sources of at least 32 % by 2030 and the obligation of the Member States to ensure that those share targets are achieved, does EU law preclude a Member State from imposing an additional tax obligation on producers of electricity from renewable sources, such as the levy payable to the Energy Transition Fund governed by Government Emergency Order No 27/2022?










3.


According to the interpretation of Article 3(1) and (4), Article 9(2) and Article 58(b), (c) and (d) of Directive 2019/944 (3) and Article 3(b), (f), (g), (j) and (n) of Regulation 2019/943, (4) read in conjunction with Article 101(1) TFEU, on the basis of which Member States must ensure a level playing field and non-discriminatory conditions for electricity producers, does EU law preclude a Member State from creating an additional tax liability, such as the levy payable to the Energy Transition Fund governed by Government Emergency Order No 27/2022, solely for certain categories of electricity producers, to the exclusion of other categories of producers not required to pay the levy?










4.


According to the interpretation of Article 107(1) and Article 108(3) TFEU, does EU law preclude the imposition of a tax obligation, such as the levy payable to the Energy Transition Fund governed by Government Emergency Order No 27/2022, which exempts certain electricity producers from payment of the levy, thereby constituting State aid granted to the exempt parties, subject to the obligation to give notification?










5.


According to the interpretation of Article 3(a), (b), (h) and (p) and Article 10(1), (4) and (5) of Regulation No 2019/943, read in conjunction with recitals 22 and 23 of the regulation, of Article 5(1), (3) and (4) of Directive 2019/944 and of Article 8 of Regulation 2022/1854, (5) which governs the principles relating to price formation on the wholesale energy market, does EU law preclude a Member State from imposing an additional tax obligation such as the levy on the revenue of electricity producers? According to the interpretation of those provisions, may the levy be regarded as proportionate if it does not take account of the actual operating costs of electricity producers?










6.


According to the interpretation of Article 5(4) of Directive 2019/944, read in conjunction with Articles 49 and 56 and Article 63(1) TFEU, does EU law preclude the Romanian State from imposing an additional tax obligation on producers of electricity from renewable sources, such as the levy payable to the Energy Transition Fund governed by Government Emergency Order No 27/2022, in the absence of clear justification and in the absence of final impact on consumers?










7.


According to the interpretation of Article 401 of Directive 2006/112, (6) according to which Member States may not introduce turnover taxes or duties, does EU law preclude a Member State from imposing an additional tax obligation on electricity producers, such as the levy payable to the Energy Transition Fund governed by Government Emergency Order No 27/2022?






(1)  Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ 2021 L 243, p. 1).

(2)  Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ 2018 L 328, p. 82).

(3)  Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (OJ 2019 L 158, p. 125).

(4)  Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity (OJ 2019 L 158, p. 54).

(5)  Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices (OJ 2022 L 261I, p. 1).

(6)  Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5600/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)