CELEX: C1999/136/07
Language: en
Date: 1999-05-15 00:00:00
Title: Order of the Court of 2 March 1999 in Joined Cases C-231/98 and C-232/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Grande Instance d'Épinal: SA Lamboley (C-231/98), Bouctot (C-232/98) v Administration des Impôts (Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure - Manifestly identical question)

C 136/4                   EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                         15.5.1999
Judges; A. La Pergola, Advocate General; H. von Holstein,                                      ORDER OF THE COURT
Deputy Registrar, has given a judgment on 9 March 1999, in
which it has ruled:                                                                                 of 2 March 1999
It is contrary to Articles 52 and 58 of the EC Treaty for a Member
State to refuse to register a branch of a company formed in accordance     in Joined Cases C-231/98 and C-232/98 (reference for a
with the law of another Member State in which it has its registered        preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Grande Instance
office but in which it conducts no business where the branch is            d’Épinal: SA Lamboley (C-231/98), Bouctot (C-232/98) v
intended to enable the company in question to carry on its entire                           Administration des Impôts (1)
business in the State in which that branch is to be created, while
avoiding the need to form a company there, thus evading application        (Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Manifestly
of the rules governing the formation of companies which, in that                                   identical question)
State, are more restrictive as regards the paying up of a minimum
share capital. That interpretation does not, however, prevent the
authorities of the Member State concerned from adopting any                                         (1999/C 136/07)
appropriate measure for preventing or penalising fraud, either in
relation to the company itself, if need be in cooperation with the
Member State in which it was formed, or in relation to its members,                            (Language of the case: French)
where it has been established that they are in fact attempting, by
means of the formation of a company, to evade their obligations            In joined Cases C-231/98 and C-232/98: reference to the
towards private or public creditors established in the territory of the    Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty from the Tribunal de
Member State concerned.                                                    Grande Instance d’Épinal (France) for a preliminary ruling in
                                                                           the proceedings pending before that court between SA Lam-
(1) OJ C 228, 26.7.1997.                                                   boley (C-231/98), Bouctot (C-232/98) and Administration des
                                                                           Impôts on the interpretation of Article 95 of the EC Treaty —
                                                                           the Court, composed of: G. C. Rodrı́guez Iglesias, President,
                                                                           P. J. G. Kapteyn, J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch and P. Jann,
                                                                           Presidents of Chambers, G. F. Mancini, J. C. Moitinho de
                                                                           Almeida, C. Gulmann, J. L. Murray, D. A. O. Edward, H.
                     ORDER OF THE COURT                                    Ragnemalm, L. Sevón and M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), Judges;
                                                                           F. G. Jacobs, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, made an
                                                                           order on 2 March 1999, the operative part of which is as
                            of 2 March 1999                                follows:
in Case C-422/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
the Tribunal de Première Instance de Bruxelles): Colonia                   Article 95 of the EC Treaty does not preclude the application of
Versicherung AG Zweigniederlassung München and                             national rules on motor vehicle taxation which provide for an increase
                      Others v Belgian State (1)                           in the progression coefficient of the kind at issue in the main
                                                                           proceedings, in so far as that increase does not have the effect of
    (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Inadmissibility)                 favouring the sales of vehicles of domestic manufacture over the sale
                                                                           of vehicles imported from other Member States.
                            (1999/C 136/06)
                                                                           (1) OJ C 278, 5.9.1998.
                     (Language of the case: French)
In Case C-422/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
the EC Treaty from the Tribunal de Première Instance de
Bruxelles for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending
before that court between Colonia Versicherung AG Zweignie-
derlassung München and Others v Belgian State on the
interpretation of Article 30 of the EC Treaty — the Court,                 Action brought on 10 February 1999 by the Commission
composed of: G. C. Rodrı́guez Iglesias, President, P. J. G. Kap-           of the European Communities against the French Republic
teyn, J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch and P. Jann (Rapporteur),
Presidents of Chambers, G. F. Mancini, J. C. Moitinho de
Almeida, C. Gulmann, J. L. Murray, D. A. O. Edward, H. Ragne-                                        (Case C-38/99)
malm, L. Sevón and M. Wathelet, Judges; G. Cosmas, Advocate
General; R. Grass, Registrar, has made an order on 2 March                                          (1999/C 136/08)
1999, the operative part of which is as follows:
The reference for a preliminary ruling made by the Tribunal de             An action against the French Republic was brought before the
Première Instance de Bruxelles, by judgment of 10 November 1998,           Court of Justice of the European Communities on 10 February
is inadmissible.                                                           1999 by the Commission of the European Communities,
                                                                           represented by Paolo Stancanelli, of its Legal Service, and
                                                                           Olivier Couvert-Castéra, a national civil servant on secondment
(1) OJ C 20, 23.1.1999.                                                    to the Legal Service, acting as Agents, with an address for
                                                                           service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos Gómez de la
                                                                           Cruz, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.