CELEX: C1997/054/05
Language: en
Date: 1997-02-22 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber) of 12 December 1996 in Joined Cases C-47/95, C-48/95, C-49/95, C-50/95, C-60/95, C-81/95, C-92/95 and C-148/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunale di Genova): Olasagasti and C. Srl and Others v. Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato (Regulation (EEC) No 3835/90 - Regulation (EEC) No 3587/91 - Regulation (EEC) No 3416/91 - Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal - Article 5 (1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 - Regulation (EEC) No 1750/90 - Regulation (EEC) No 2164/91 - Customs duties - Tariff preferences - Agricultural products - Post-clearance recovery - Binding information - Tuna in olive oil)

22 . 2 . 97            EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 54/3
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that                            JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
court between Ministero delle Finanze and Foods Import                                         ( Fifth Chamber )
Sri on the interpretation of Council Regulation ( EEC )
No 3796/81 of 29 December 1981 on the common                                               of 12 December 1996
organization of the market in fishery products ( OJ No
L 379, 31 . 12 . 1981 , p. 1 ), and of Article 5 ( 2 ) of Council     in Joined Cases C-47/95 , C-48/95 , C-49/95 , C-50/95 , C­
Regulation ( EEC ) No 1697/79 of 24 July 1979 on the                  60/95 , C-81 /95 , C-92/95 and C-148/95 (reference for a
post-clearance recovery of import duties or export duties             preliminary ruling by the Tribunale di Genova ): Olasagasti
                                                                      and C. Sri and Others v. Amministrazione delle Finanze
which have not been required of the person liable for
payment on goods entered for a customs procedure                                                 dello Stato (M
involving the obligation to pay such duties ( OJ No L 197,            (Regulation (EEC) No 3835/90 — Regulation (EEC)
3 . 8 . 1979, p. 1 ), the Court composed of: L. Sevon,                No 3587/91 — Regulation (EEC) No 3416/91 — Act of
President of the Chamber ( Rapporteur ), P. Jann and M.               Accession of Spain and Portugal — Article 5(1 ) and (2) of
Wathelet, Judges; Advocate-General : N. Fennelly,                     Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 — Regulation (EEC)
Registrar: D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal Administrator,              No 1750/90 — Regulation (EEC) No 2164/91 —
has given a judgment on 12 December 1996 in which it                  Customs duties — Tariff preferences — Agricultural
rules :
                                                                      products — Post-clearance recovery — Binding
                                                                                     information — Tuna in olive oil)
                                                                                                  ( 97/C 54/05 )
1 . Tariff headings 03.02 A I (b) and 03.02 A II (a) set
                                                                                       (Language of the case: Italian)
     out in Article 20 of Council Regulation (EEC)
     No 3796/81 of 29 December 1981 on the common
     organization of the market in fishery products are to
     be interpreted as meaning that the list of species                  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
     whose scientific names are indicated in brackets is                        published in the European Court Reports)
     exhaustive and does not include ling, whose scientific
     name is Molva molva, so that imports of this fish may
     not be exempt from customs duties.                                In Joined Cases C-47/95 , C-48/95 , C-49/95 , C-50/95 , C­
                                                                       60/95 , C-81 /95 , C-92/95 and C-148/95 : reference by the
                                                                      Tribunale di Genova ( District Court, Genoa ) for a
                                                                       preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
                                                                       court between Olasagasti & C. Sri ( C-47/95 ), Comarcon
2 . In order to determine whether the error committed by               SNC ( C-48/95 ), Ghezzi Alimentari Sri ( C-49/95 ), Fredo Sri
     the competent authorities 'could not reasonably have              ( C-50/95 ), Cateringros Sri ( C-60/95 ), Intercod Sri ( C-81 /
     been detected by the person liable ' within the meaning           95 ), Nuova Castelli SpA ( C-92/95 ), Igino Mazzola SpA
     of Article 5 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1697/             ( C-148/95 ) and Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato
     79 of 24 July 1979, on the post-clearance recovery of             — on the interpretation of Article 1 ( 1 ) of Commission
     import duties or export duties which have not been                Regulation ( EEC ) No 3416/91 of 25 November 1991 on
     required of the person liable for payment on goods                certain residual duties applicable in 1991 in the
                                                                       framework of the successive reduction in accordance with
     entered for a customs procedure involving the
     obligation to pay such duties, account must be taken,             the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal ( OJ No L 324,
     in particular, of the nature of the error, the                    26 . 11 . 1991 , p. 11 ), and of Article 5 of Council
     professional experience of the trader concerned and               Regulation ( EEC ) No 1679/79 of 24 July 1979 on the
     the degree of care which he exercised. The relevant               post-clearance recovery of imports duties which have not
     factors to be taken into consideration in assessing the           been required of the person liable for payment on goods
     nature of the error include the possibility that the              entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation
      terminology used may have caused confusion, the fact             to pay such duties ( OJ No L 197, 3 . 8 . 1979 , p. 1 — the
      that a change of rule was not apparent and the time               Court ( Fifth Chamber ), composed of J. C. Moitinho de
      taken by the competent authorities themselves to                 Almeida, President of the Chamber, L. Sevon, D. A. O.
      realize that such a change had been made. It is for the           Edward ( Rapporteur), P. Jann and M. Wathelet, Judges ,
      national court to determine, on the basis of that                 Advocate-General : N. Fennelly, L. Hewlett, Administrator,
      interpretation, whether or not the error which led to             for the Registrar gave a judgment on 12 December 1996 ,
      duties not being collected was detectable by the person           the operative part of which is as follows :
      liable.
                                                                        1 . The suspension of the residual customs duties
                                                                            applicable to imports from Spain into the Community
 (') OJ No C 119 , 13 . 5 . 1995 .                                          of Ten in accordance with Article 75 (1 ) of the Act of
                                                                            Accession, provided for in Article 1 ( 1 ) of Commission
                                                                            Regulation (EEC) No 3416/91 on certain residual
                                                                            duties applicable in 1991 in the framework of the
                                                                            successive reduction in accordance with the Act of
                                                                            Accession of Spain and Portugal for the agricultual
 ---pagebreak--- No C 54/4               EN                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                     22 . 2 . 97
     products listed in the Annex to Council Regulation                     Magistrate's Court, Turin ) and from the Pretura
     (EEC) No 383S/90 of 20 December 1990 amending                          Circondariale di Torino itself for a preliminary ruling in
     Regulations (EEC) No 3831 /90, (EEC) No 3832/90                        the criminal proceedings pending before that court against
     and (EEC) No 3833/90 in respect of the system of                       X — on the interpretation of Council Directive 90/270/
     generalized tariff preferences applied to certain                      EEC of 29 May 1990 on the minimum safety and health
     products originating in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador                     requirements for work with display screen equipment
     and Peru, does not apply to imports of preserved tuna                  ( fifth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16
     in olive oil from Spain .                                              ( 1 ) of Directive 89/391 /EEC ) ( OJ No L 156 , 21 . 6 . 1990,
                                                                            p. 14 ) — the Court ( Fifth Chamber ), composed of : J. C.
2 . It is for the national court to establish whether the                   Moitinho de Almeida ( Rapporteur ), President of the
     conditions laid down in Article 5 (2) of Council                       Chamber, L. Sevon, D. A. O. Edward, P. Jann and M.
      Regulation (EEC) No 1679/79 on the post-clearance                     Wathelet, Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate­
     recovery of import duties which have not been                          General ; R. Grass , Registrar, gave a judgment on
     required of the person liable for payment on goods                     12 December 1996 , the operative part of which is as
                                                                            follows :
     entered for a customs procedure involving the
      obligation to pay such duties are fulfilled. In order to
     determine whether or not the error committed by the                    1 . Article 9 ( 1 ) of Council Directive 90/270/EEC of
     authorities could reasonably have been detected by the                       29 May 1990 on the minimum safety and health
     person liable it is appropriate to take account, in                          requirements for work with display screen equipment
     particular, of the nature of the error, the professional                     (fifth individual Directive within the meaning of
      experience of the trader concerned and the degree of                        Article 16 (1 ) of Directive 89/391 /EEC) must be
      care exercised by him. The relevant factors to be taken                     interpreted as meaning that the regular eye tests for
      into account include the complexity of the legislation,                     which it provides are to be carried out on all workers
      the terms in which the purpose of the provisions at                         to whom the Directive applies and Article 9 (2) is to
      issue is expressed, recurrence of the error in question                     be interpreted as meaning that workers are entitled to
      in other measures of the Member State concerned and                         an ophthalmological examination in all cases where
     any divergence of views between the Member States as                         the eye and eyesight test carried out pursuant to
      to the proper interpretation of the relevant provisions.                    Article 9 (1 ) shows that this it necessary.
(') OJ No C 199 , 13 . 5 . 1995 ,
     OJ No C 137, 3 . 6 . 1995 , and                                        2 . On a proper construction of Articles 4 and 5 of
     OJ No C 189 , 22 . 7 . 1995 .                                                Directive 90/270/E.EC, the obligations they impose
                                                                                  apply to all workstations as defined in Article 2 (b),
                                                                                  even if they are not used by workers as defined in
                                                                                  Article 2 (c), and workstations must be adapted to
                                                                                  comply with all the minimum requirements laid down
                                                                                  in the Annex .
                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                            (') OJ No C 208 , 12 . 8 . 1995 .
                           ( Fifth Chamber )
                      of 12 December 1996
in Joined Cases C-74/95 and C-129/95 ( references for a
preliminary ruling from the Procura della Repubblica
presso la Pretura Circondariale di Torino, Italy, and from
the Pretura Circondariale di Torino ): Criminal proceedings                                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                              against X ( 1 )                                                         ( Sixth Chamber)
(Directive 90/270/EEC on the minimum safety and health                                             of 12 December 1996
requirements for work with display screen equipment —
Definition of worker — Eye and eyesight tests —                             in Case C-142/95 P Associazione Agricoltori della
Definition of workstation for the purposes of Articles 4                    Provincia di Rovigo and Others v. Commission of the
and 5 — Extent of the obligations laid down in Article 4                                  European Communities and Others (')
                                  and 5)                                     (Appeal — Natural or legal persons — Act of direct and
                              ( 97/C 54/06 )                                                    individual concern to them)
                                                                                                         ( 97/C 54/07 )
                  (Language of the case: Italian)
                                                                                              (Language of the case: Italian)
   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
           published in the European Court Reports)
                                                                               (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
In Joined Cases C-74/95 and C-129/95 : references to the
                                                                                        published in the European Court Reports)
Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty from the
Procura della Repubblica ( Office of the Public Prosecutor )                 In Case C-142/95 P: Associazione Agricoltori della
to     the    Pretura     Circondariale       di   Torino     ( District     Provincia di Rovigo, Associazione Polesana Coltivatori