Case C-563/24, PB Vi Goods: Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 13 November 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Potsdam – Germany) – Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV v PB Vi Goods GmbH (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Definition, description, presentation, labelling and protection of spirit drinks – Regulation (EU) 2019/787 – Article 10(7) – Prohibition on using legal names for any beverage that does not comply with the requirements of the relevant categories – Gin – Beverage named non-alcoholic gin – Article 12(1) – Allusions – Validity of Article 10(7) – Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Freedom to conduct a business – Principle of proportionality)
Date: 2025-11-13
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: consumer information, labelling, non-alcoholic beverage, principle of proportionality, product designation, spirits








C_202600150EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/150


12.1.2026






Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 13 November 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Potsdam – Germany) – Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV v PB Vi Goods GmbH


(Case C-563/24,
                (1)
PB Vi Goods)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Definition, description, presentation, labelling and protection of spirit drinks - Regulation (EU) 2019/787 - Article 10(7) - Prohibition on using legal names for any beverage that does not comply with the requirements of the relevant categories - Gin - Beverage named ‘non-alcoholic gin’ - Article 12(1) - Allusions - Validity of Article 10(7) - Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Freedom to conduct a business - Principle of proportionality)
(C/2026/150)
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Landgericht Potsdam

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV

Defendant: PB Vi Goods GmbH

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 10(7) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of other foodstuffs, the protection of geographical indications for spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1096 of 21 April 2021,
must be interpreted as prohibiting the use of the name ‘non-alcoholic gin’ in the presentation and labelling of a non-alcoholic beverage on the ground that it does not comply with the requirements laid down in point 20(a) and (b) of Annex I to that regulation for the category of spirit drinks corresponding to the legal name ‘gin’.










2.


Consideration of the first question referred has not disclosed any factor of such a kind as to affect the validity of Article 10(7) of Regulation 2019/787, as amended by Delegated Regulation 2021/1096, in the light of the freedom to conduct a business enshrined in Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.






(1)  OJ C, C/2024/5968.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/150/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)