CELEX: C2001/331/25
Language: en
Date: 2001-11-24 00:00:00
Title: Case C-383/01: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Østre Landsret by order of 26 September 2001 in the case of De Danske Bilimportører v Skatteministeriet, Told- og Skattestyrelsen

24.11.2001            EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 331/15
period for compliance laid down in the Directive. That period          Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Østre Landsret
expired on 1 January 2000 without the United Kingdom                   by order of 26 September 2001 in the case of De Danske
having enacted the provisions necessary to comply with the             Bilimportører v Skatteministeriet, Told- og Skattesty-
Directive referred to in the conclusions of the Commission.                                         relsen
                                                                                               (Case C-383/01)
(1) OJ L 001, 5.1.1999, p. 1-2.
                                                                                               (2001/C 331/25)
                                                                       Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                                                                       European Communities by order of 26 September 2001 by
Action brought on 4 October 2001 by the Commission of                  the Østre Landsret (Eastern Regional Court), which was
the European Communities against the United Kingdom                    received at the Court Registry on 5 October 2001, for a
                                                                       preliminary ruling in the case of De Danske Bilimportører v
                                                                       Skatteministeriet, Told- og Skattestyrelsen (Duty and Taxation
                        (Case C-382/01)                                Authority of the Ministry of Fiscal Affairs), on the following
                                                                       questions:
                        (2001/C 331/24)
                                                                       1.   Can an indirect duty (registration duty) charged by a
                                                                            Member State, which in the case of new cars amounts to
                                                                            105 % of DKK 52 800 and 180 % of the remainder of
An action against the United Kingdom was brought before the                 the taxable value, be a measure having an effect equivalent
Court of Justice of the European Communities on 4 October                   to a quantitative restriction on imports and for that
2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,                         reason prohibited under Article 28 EC (reference is made
represented by Christina Tufvesson, acting as agent, with an                in this connection to the Court’s judgment in Case
address for service in Luxembourg.                                          C-47/88 Commission v Denmark [1990] ECR I-4509,
                                                                            paragraph 13)?
The Applicant requests that the Court should:                          2.   If the answer to Question 1 is ‘yes’: can that registration
                                                                            duty be justified on the grounds that are mentioned in
—     declare that by failing to adopt the laws, regulations or             Article 30 EC or follow from the Court’s case-law on
      administrative provisions necessary to comply with the                Article 28 EC (reference is made to Case 120/78 Rewe-
      European Parliament and Council Directive 98/78/EC of                 Zentral [1979] ECR 649)?
      27 October 1998 on the supplementary supervision of
      insurance undertakings in an insurance group (1), or, in
      any event, by failing to inform the Commission of
      those measures, the United Kingdom has failed fulfil its
      obligations under that Directive,
—     order the United Kingdom to pay the costs.
                                                                       Action brought on 9 October 2001 by the Commission
                                                                       of the European Communities against the Kingdom of
                                                                                                     Spain
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                                               (Case C-392/01)
Article 249 EC under which a directive shall be binding as to
the result to be achieved, upon each Member State, carries by                                  (2001/C 331/26)
implication an obligation on the Member States to observe the
period for compliance laid down in the directive. That period
expired on 5 June 2000 without the United Kingdom having
enacted the provisions necessary to comply with the directive
referred to in the conclusions of the Commission.                      An action against the Kingdom of Spain was brought before
                                                                       the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 9 Octo-
                                                                       ber 2001 by the Commission of the European Communities,
(1) OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 1-12.                                      represented by Isabel Martı́nez del Peral, of its Legal Service,
                                                                       acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at
                                                                       the office of Luis Escobar Guerrero, also of the Commission’s
                                                                       Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg.