CELEX: C1996/031/23
Language: en
Date: 1996-02-03 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Pretura Circondariale di Roma - Sezione Distaccata di Tivoli by order of that court of 15 and 22 November 1995 in criminal proceedings against Tersilio Onorati and Palma Marulli (Cases C-377/95 and C-378/95)

No C 31 / 12               EN               Official Journal of the European Communities                                    3 . 2 . 96
      ( b ) Article 3 ( 1 ) of Law No 363/76 ( as last replaced by     similar reduction is provided for second-hand cars with the
            Article 2 ( 7 ) of Law No 2187/ 1994 ) which governs       latest technology this has created discrimination to the
            payment of the flat-rate added special duty without        detriment of imported second-hand cars with the latest
            any reduction for used cars; and                           technology in relation to equivalent Greek cars, since the
                                                                       residual portion of the reduced tax is incorporated in the
      ( c ) Article 1 of Law No 1858/1989 , as subsequently            latters' value, whereas the special consumption tax is
            amended by Laws No 1882/1990 ( Articles 37 ( 2 )           charged on the importation of the former without the
            and 42 ( 1 )) and No 2093/ 1992 ( Article 10 ) which       reduction provided for anti-pollutant cars .
            now applies with Article 2 ( 1 ) of Law
            No 2187/1 994, by which tax advantages ( reduction         The practical difficulties invoked by the Hellenic Republic
            of the special consumption tax ) are granted only to       cannot justify such an infringement of the first paragraph of
            new anti-pollutant cars and not to imported                Article 95 of the Treaty, as is clear from the consistent
            second-hand anti-pollutant cars,                           case-law of the Court of Justice .
      the Hellenic Republic is in breach of its obligations
      pursuant to Article 95 of the EC Treaty;
2 . order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs .
                                                                       Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Pretura
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                    Circondariale di Roma — Sezione Distaccata di Tivoli by
                                                                       order of that court of 15 and 22 November 1995 in criminal
A. Special consumption tax                                               proceedings against Tersilio Onorati and Palma Marulli
                                                                                     ( Cases C-377/95 and C-378/95 )
This tax is levied on cars manufactured in Greece when they
                                                                                                  ( 96/C 31 /23 )
first circulate as new cars and also on imported cars on
importation either new or second-hand . Accordingly the tax
is not levied on second-hand Greek cars .                              Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                                                                       European Communities by orders of the Pretura
                                                                       Circondariali di Roma — Sezione Distaccata di Tivoli
The tax is levied on imported second-hand cars on the basis
of their presumed value , which is calculated by means of a            ( Rome District Magistrate's Court, Tivoli Division ) of 15
reduction from the price of equivalent new cars of 5 % for             and 22 November 1995 , which were received at the Court
each year of use , up to a maximum of 20% . In the                     Registry on 4 December 1995 , for a preliminary ruling in
Commission 's view, since                                              criminal proceedings against Tersilio Onorati and Palma
                                                                       Marulli
( a ) the actual reduced value of the cars exceeds 5 % per
        annum ;
                                                                       The questions referred by the Pretura Circondariale di
                                                                       Roma — Sezione Distaccata di Tivoli to the Court of Justice
                                                                       for a preliminary ruling are identical with those in Case
( b ) that reduction is not linear, but greater in the first years     C-58/95 ( M.
        and less subsequently;
                                                                       (>) OJ No C 119 , 13 . 5 . 1995 , p . 6 .
( c ) there is no provision for a reduction greater than
        20% ,
those rules result in higher taxation of imported cars,
because the residual ( incorporated ) portion of the tax in the
value of second-hand cars manufactured in Greece is less
than the amount of the tax levied on imported second-hand              Appeal brought on 27 November 1995 by the French
cars .
                                                                       Republic against the judgment delivered on 18 September
                                                                       1995 by the First Chamber ( enlarged composition ) of the
                                                                       Court of First Instance of the European Communities in
Accordingly this amounts to a breach of the first paragraph            Case T-548/93 ( ] ) between Ladbroke Racing Ltd and the
of Article 95 of the Treaty .                                          Commission of the European Communities, supported by
                                                                                            the French Republic
B.      Flat-rate added special duty                                                         ( Case C-379/95 P)
                                                                                                    96/C 31 /24
The method of calculating this duty is the same as that used
in calculating the special consumption tax. Consequently
                                                                       An appeal against the judgment delivered on 18 September
the same comments as above apply by analogy.
                                                                        1995 by the First Chamber ( enlarged composition ) of the
                                                                       Court of First Instance of the European Communities in
C. Special consumption tax on anti-pollutant cars                      Case T-548/93 between Ladbroke Racing Ltd and the
                                                                        Commission of the European Communities was brought
By successive laws the Hellenic Republic has reduced in                 before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on
recent years the special consumption tax levied on new cars            27 November 1995 by the French Republic, represented by
with the latest technology ( anti-pollutant cars ). Since no           Jean-Marc Belorgey, Catherine de Salins and Jean-Francois