CELEX: 62019TN0047
Language: en
Date: 2019-01-23 00:00:00
Title: Case T-47/19: Action brought on 23 January 2019 — Dansk Erhverv v Commission

18.3.2019   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 103/53
            
         
      Action brought on 23 January 2019 — Dansk Erhverv v Commission
      (Case T-47/19)
      (2019/C 103/69)
      Language of the case: English
      
         Parties
      
      
         Applicant: Dansk Erhverv (Copenhagen, Denmark) (represented by: T. Mygind, lawyer)
      
         Defendant: European Commission
      
         Form of order sought
      
      The applicants claim that the Court should:
      
                  —
               
               
                  annul Commission decision C(2018) 6315 final of 4 October 2018 concerning State aid SA.44865 (2016/FC) — Germany — Alleged State aid to German beverage border shops;
               
            
                  —
               
               
                  order the Commission to pay the costs.
               
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
      
      In support of the action, the applicant relies on one plea in law, alleging that the Commission violated the applicant’s procedural rights as an interested party pursuant to Article 108(2) TFEU and Articles 4(4), 12(1) and 24(1) of the Procedural Regulation, (1) by failing to open the formal investigation procedure provided for in Article 108(2) TFEU despite the serious difficulties arising in the assessment of the state aid issues addressed in the complaint related to the administrative ‘export declaration’ practice and in particular to the relief of the obligation for the Border Shops to charge a deposit and thereby pay the deposit VAT, as well as a relief of fines for violations of the deposit charging obligations under the German canned beverages deposit scheme. The Commission therefore committed errors of law and manifest errors of assessment of the facts, first, as concerns the compatibility of the ‘export declaration’ practice with Germany’s obligations pursuant to Article 4(3) TFEU, the Packaging Directive (2) and the polluter-pays principle, and with the deposit charging requirements pursuant to the applicable German Packaging Ordonnance. Secondly, the Commission erred with respect to the State aid effects of the VAT revenue foregone by Germany as a result of the ‘export declaration’ practice.
      
         (1)  Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 9.
      
         (2)  Directive (EU) 2018/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 141.