CELEX: C2005/155/15
Language: en
Date: 2005-06-25 00:00:00
Title: Case C-178/05: Action brought on 19 April 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic

25.6.2005   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 155/8
            
         Action brought on 19 April 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities against the Hellenic Republic
   (Case C-178/05)
   (2005/C 155/15)
   Language of the case: Greek
   An action against the Hellenic Republic was brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 19 April 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities, represented by Dimitrios Triantafillou, with an address for service in Luxembourg.
   The applicant claims that the Court should:
   
               1.
            
            
               declare that, as a result of its legislative provisions concerning the imposition of duty on the transfer of registered offices and the transfer of effective centres of management and concerning the exemption from that duty of all cooperative agricultural organisations of whatever level, of associations and consortia thereof of any kind, of co-ownership of vessels, of shipping consortia, and of shipping companies of every kind, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Directive 69/335/EEC; (1)
               
            
         
               2.
            
            
               order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments of the Commission
   The Commission submits that the relevant criterion for imposition of duty on the transfer of the registered office or effective centre of management is whether or not the company is classified as a capital company in the State of origin, with the result that duty is not imposed when the Member State of origin does not consider a company to be a capital company. The Commission therefore objects to the fact that the Greek legislation ascribes importance only to whether or not capital duty is imposed in the State of origin, exempting from duty only the transfer to Greece of a registered office or effective centre of management from a Member State which imposes capital duty. The Commission's view is based on a both literal and systemic interpretation of the directive, which is related to the nature as capital companies of the companies liable for duty and is reinforced by the amendment brought about by Directive 85/303/EEC which moves towards abolition of capital duty.
   As regards the exemption of agricultural cooperatives and shipping companies, categories covering entire branches of the economy are involved; the Greek authorities have not explained why those categories do not comprise capital companies and their total exemption is not covered by the power under the directive to exempt certain transactions. Furthermore, where the directive intended to exempt whole branches it did so expressly (for example, public undertakings and organisations).
   
      (1)  OJ, English Special Edition 1969 (II), p. 412.