CELEX: 62012CN0343
Language: en
Date: 2012-07-19 00:00:00
Title: Case C-343/12: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank van Koophandel te Gent (Belgium) lodged on 19 July 2012 — Euronics Belgium CVBA v Kamera Express BV & Kamera Express Belgium BVBA

6.10.2012   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 303/16
            
         Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank van Koophandel te Gent (Belgium) lodged on 19 July 2012 — Euronics Belgium CVBA v Kamera Express BV & Kamera Express Belgium BVBA
   (Case C-343/12)
   2012/C 303/28
   Language of the case: Dutch
   
      Referring court
   
   Rechtbank van Koophandel te Gent
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   Applicant: Euronics Belgium CVBA
   Defendants: 
   
                
            
            
               Kamera Express BV
            
         
                
            
            
               Kamera Express Belgium BVBA
            
         
      Question referred
   
   Is Article 101 of the (Belgian) Law on market practices and consumer protection (Wet betreffende marktpraktijken en consumentenbescherming), which, inter alia, is intended to protect the interests of consumers and is worded as follows:
   
      ‘Article 101(1)All undertakings shall be prohibited from offering for sale or selling goods at a loss.
      A sale at a loss shall mean any sale at a price which is not at least equal to the price at which the undertaking purchased the item or which the undertaking would have to pay to replenish its stock, after any discounts granted and definitively obtained. In order to determine whether a sale is a sale at a loss, no account shall be taken of discounts which, whether exclusive or non-exclusive, are granted in exchange for commitments entered into by the undertaking other than for the purchase of goods’,
   
   contrary to Directive 2005/29/EC (1) in so far as it prohibits sales at a loss, whereas Directive 2005/29/EC appears not to prohibit such sales practices and the Belgian Law may be stricter than the provisions of Directive 2005/29/EC and the prohibition under Article 4 of that directive?
   
      (1)  Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ 2005 L 149, p. 22).