CELEX: 31974D0008
Language: en
Date: 1973-12-17 00:00:00
Title: 74/8/EEC: Commission Decision of 17 December 1973 on para-fiscal taxes financing the 'Technical Centres' for leather and for the clock and watch-making industry

17 . 1 . 74                       Official Journal of the European Communities                             No L 14/23
                                            COMMISSION DECISION
                                               of 17 December 1973
               on para-fiscal taxes financing the 'Technical Centres' for leather and for the
                                        clock and watch-making industry
                                          (Only the French text is authentic)
                                                       (74/8/EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                 could therefore be considered compatible with the
COMMUNITIES,                                                   common market, on condition , however, that the
                                                               method of financing is modified and that the para­
                                                               fiscal taxes financing these systems are no longer
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European          levied on products imported from the Member States ;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 93
(2), first paragraph thereof ;
                                                               Whereas in respect of Judgment No 47/69 of 25 June
Having called upon interested parties to submit their          1970 from the Court of Justice of the European
comments ;
                                                               Communities on aid to the textile sector in France ,
                                                               financed by a para-fiscal tax working in a similar way
                                                               to   those  introduced    for the   'Technical   Centres'
Whereas a para-fiscal tax was introduced in France on          referred to above, the Court stated in its judgment that
21 September 1966, by Decree No 66-717, on the sale            it considered the aid system to be incompatible with
of watches of all sizes and of parts either produced in        the provisions of the EEC Treaty on account of its
France or imported ; whereas the proceeds of the tax,          method of financing and regardless of the amount of
estimated in 1970 at FF 2 million , are allocated to the       the tax ;
'Technical Centre' for the clock and watch-making
industry which is responsible for carrying out research
work, standardization with a view to the technical             Whereas in its judgment the Court of Justice stated it
development and control of the sector ;                        considered such systems to be incompatible with the
                                                               common market, even if the Research Institutes in
                                                               the various sectors were to make the results of their
Whereas a similar system to that introduced for                research work available to interested parties in the rele­
watches was introduced for the hides, skins and
                                                               vant sectors in the other Member States ; whereas
leather industry by Decree No 68-791 of 5 September            making the facilities and findings of the Research
 1968 , as amended by Decree No 70-151 of 20
                                                               Institutes available would, in fact, not necessarily
February 1 970 ; whereas, pursuant to those decrees, a
                                                               imply that a true sharing of these services, of equal
para-fiscal tax ranging from 0-15% to 0-62% to be              benefit to all, since even if equal treatment were
allocated to the 'Technical Centre' for leather is levied
on the sale of finished hides, skins and leather and on
                                                               ensured in respect of standardization , French undertak­
                                                               ings would be given an advantage in practice, in the
products in which finished hides, skins and leather            nature of things ;
are incorporated, whether produced in France or
imported ; whereas revenue from the tax amounted to
approximately FF 9-3 million in 1971 ; whereas the
objectives of the 'Technical Centre' for the leather           Whereas the Commission , in Letter No 71-20030 of 6
industry are similar to those pursued in the case of the       January 1971 , requested the Governments of France
                                                               and of the other Member States to examine and
clock and watch-making industry and relate to
research , technical assistance and standardization of         modify similar systems which might be in force in
quality which are necessary for the French hides,              their countries, in view of the Decree of the Court
skins and leather industry ;                                   referred to above ; whereas the French Government, in
                                                               particular in Letter No 71-12581 of 14 October 1971 ,
                                                               informed the Commission that it did not consider it
Whereas the Commission has examined, in the case               necessary to modify the aid system for the clock and
of both the systems referred to above, the effect of           watch-making and the hides, skins and leather indus­
public intervention in the form of aid and the method          tries ; whereas the main reason for such an attitude
of financing that aid, and whereas it considers that if        was that, because of their exchanges of information
the effects of the aid systems, bearing in mind the            with similar institutes in the other Member States, the ,
aims of the 'Technical Centres', be brought under the          French Government considers the work of the French
conditions laid down in the provision for a derogation         'Technical Centres' to be equally beneficial to the rele­
contained in Article 92 (3c) of the EEC Treaty, and            vant industries in the other Member States ;
 ---pagebreak--- No L 14/24                         Official Journal of the European Communities                             17 . 1 . 74
Whereas on 15 September 1972 ( J ) the Commission             ties — either within their own undertakings or within
therefore initiated the procedure laid down in Article        ad hoc institutes — in the first instance , research
93 (2), first subparagraph, of the EEC Treaty in respect      centres financed by national resources ;
of the aid system for the clock and watch-making and         Whereas in one Member State there is a Research
the hides, skins and leather industries, and whereas, in
this connection, it has called upon the French Govern­        Institute for the hides, skins and leather industry
ment, the other Member States and any other parties          whose resources are obtained in part from an aid
which might be interested to submit their comments ;          system financed by receipts from taxes on imports ;
                                                             whereas the Commission has initiated the procedure
Whereas in a letter of 25 October 1972, the French            laid down in Article 169, first subparagraph, of the
Government sent the Commission its comments in                EEC Treaty, against this aid system,
which it stressed once again :
(a) that the work of the 'Centres' is available to any        HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
     interested parties in the other Member States ;
(b) that exchanges of information take place between                                 Article 1
     those 'Centres' and the undertakings or institutes
     in these fields in the other Member States ;             The Republic of France shall modify before 28
(c) that the French Government therefore does not             February 1974 the system in force in France providing
     consider it necessary to modify the aid systems in       for aid from the 'Centre technique de l'industrie horlo­
     question ;                                               gere' for the clock and watch-making industry, so that
                                                              products of that industry imported from the other
Whereas the majority of the Member States and some            Member States shall no longer be subject to the para­
other interested parties other than the Member States         fiscal tax introduced by Decree No 66-717 of 21
have sent the Commission their comments which                 September 1966 on the sale of watches of all sizes and
show that they consider :                                     of separate parts.
— that on account of the method of financing them,
                                                                                     Article 2
      the aid systems in force in France distort competi­
      tion to the disadvantage of similar industries in       The Republic of France shall also modify before 28
      the Member States other than France ;
                                                              February 1974 the system in force in France providing
— that such systems involving taxation of imports             for aid from the 'Centre Technique du cuir' for the
      impose an additional burden on Community                hides, skins and leather industry, so that these
      producers exporting to France, who receive              products and products in which these materials are
      nothing in exchange ;                                   incorporated and which are imported from the other
Whereas the clock and watch-making industry sector            Member States shall no longer be subject to the para­
— and the shoe-making sector which processes the              fiscal tax introduced by Decree No 68-791 of 5
 products of the hides, skins and leather industry —          September 1968 on the sale of the products referred
                                                              to above .
 also receive other aids granted by the 'Comite interr­
 egional de la montre' and by the 'Comite de develop­
                                                                                     Article 3
 pement de l'lndustrie de la Chaussure' ; whereas these
 complementary systems are intended to provide                This Decision is addressed to the Republic of France.
support in commercial and structural respects and as
 regards promotion of these industries, the effects of
which are added to those of the activities of the 'Tech­       Done at Brussels, 17 December 1973 .
 nical Centres' ;
                                                                                        For the Commission
Whereas the clock and watch-making and the hides,
 skins and leather industries in the Member States
                                                                                            The President
 other than France have available to them for the
 research work necessary for the pursuit of their activi­                              Francois-Xavier ORTOLI
 (') See Letter No 72-27824 of 15 September 1972 from the
     Commission .