CELEX: C1996/318/06
Language: en
Date: 1996-10-26 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof by order of that court of 4 July 1996 in the case of Kyritzer Stärke GmbH v. Hauptzollamt Potsdam (Case C-287/96)

No C 318/4               EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                      26 . 10 . 96
     the fiscal horsepower value of vehicles which results in a          Action brought on 30 August 1996 by the Government of
     higher such value being conferred on certain vehicles,              the Kingdom of Denmark against the Commission of the
     which consumers are therefore deterred from buying,                                     European Communities
     where all the vehicles in the highest tax categories are                                     Case C-289/96 )
     imported vehicles standing in direct competition with
     similar vehicles sold in France which are in more                                              96/C 318/07 )
     favourable tax categories ?
                                                                         An action against the Commission of the European
2 . Is Article 95 of the EC Treaty to be interpreted as                  Communities was brought before the Court of Justice on
     precluding the simultaneous use of two sets of rules for            30 August 1996 by the Government of the Kingdom of
     establishing the fiscal horsepower value of vehicles                Denmark, represented by Peter Biering, Head of
     where the more unfavourable set is applied in particular            Department, with an address for service in Luxembourg at
     to vehicles imported from other Member States which                 the Danish Embassy, 4 boulevard Royal .
     French consumers are consequently deterred from
     buying, to the advantage of similar vehicles sold in
     France ?
                                                                         The applicant claims that the Court should :
                                                                        — partially annul Commission Regulation ( EC )
                                                                             No 1107/96 , of 12 June 1996 on the registration of
                                                                             geographical indications and designations of origin
                                                                             under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Council
Reference for a preliminary ruling from the                                  Regulation ( EEC ) No 208 1 /92 ( ] ), in so far as the
Bundesfinanzhof by order of that court of 4 July 1 996 in the                designation 'feta ' is listed in the Annex to the Regulation
 case of Kyritzer Starke GmbH v. Hauptzollamt Potsdam                        under point A ' Cheeses', ' GREECE',
                           Case C-287/96
                            ( 96/C 318/06 )                             •— order the Commission to pay the costs .
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                   Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support
European Communities by order of the Bundesfinanzhof
( Federal Finance Court ) of 4 July 1996 , which was received
at the Court Registry on 26 August 1996 , for a preliminary             — The registration of ' feta ' as a protected designation of
ruling in the case of Kyritzer Starke GmbH v. Hauptzollamt                   origin is contrary to the provisions of Council
( Principal Customs Office ) Potsdam on the following                        Regulation ( EEC ) No 2081 /92 of 14 July 1992 on the
questions :                                                                  protection of geographical indications and designations
                                                                             of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs ( 2 ). The
                                                                             designation ' feta ' does not fulfil the conditions laid
1 . Does the use prescribed in Article 10 ( 1 ) in conjunction               down in the Regulation in order to be considered a
     with Article 14 ( 2 ) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 1722/93 ( 1 )            designation of origin .
     for processed goods falling within CN code 3505 10 50
     constitute a primary requirement within the meaning of
     Article 20 ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of Regulation ( EEC )                        Pursuant to Article 2 ( 2 ), designation of origin means the
     No 2220/85 ( 2 ), evidence of the fulfilment of which is to             name of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases ,
     be produced within the period prescribed by Article 28                  a country, used to describe an agricultural product or a
     ( 2 ) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 2220/85 , so that, in any                foodstuff originating there , the quality or characteristics
     other case , security provided pursuant to Article 22 ( 1 )             of which are due to a particular geographical
     and ( 2 ) of that regulation becomes forfeit ?                          environment with its inherent natural and human
                                                                             factors and the production, processing and preparation
                                                                             of which take place there . 'Feta ' is not, however, the
2 . If the answer to question 1 is in the negative :                         name of a region, place or country . Nor does ' feta '
                                                                             originate from Greece, as a region for protection, but
     is some other prescribed period to be inferred from the                 from all over the Balkans , and its quality or
     applicable Community legislation, within which                          characteristics cannot be due to a particular
     evidence of use is to be produced in accordance with                    geographical environment.
     Article 10 ( 1 ) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 1722/93 , so that
     the security becomes wholly or partially ( to what
     extent ?) forfeit if the evidence is not produced within the            Pursuant     to   Article     2    ( 3 ), certain traditional
     prescribed period ?                                                     geographical or non-geographical names designating an
                                                                             agricultural product or a foodstuff originating in a
                                                                             region or a specific place, the quality or characteristics of
(') OJ No L 159 , 1 . 7 . 1993 , p . 112 .
(-) OJ No L 205 , 3 . 8 . 1995 , p . 5 .
                                                                             which fulfil the above conditions, are also to be
                                                                             considered designations of origin . Under that provision
                                                                             the product's origin may only be a specific place or
                                                                             region , not an entire country .