Yves Tarantik v Direction des services fiscaux de Seine-et-Marne.
Date: 1999-06-15
21 The Court has, in Case C-113/94 Casarin [1995] ECR I-4203, already been called upon to give a preliminary ruling on the compatibility with Article 95 of the Treaty of national motor vehicle tax rules such as the French legislation which provides for a sharper progression in tax increases for the 19 CV tax bands and above, which contain no vehicle of domestic manufacture, than that between the 15-16 CV and 17-18 CV bands, which cover vehicles of domestic manufacture capable of being considered to be similar to imported vehicles of over 19 CV.
22 The Court stated at paragraph 22 of its judgment in Casarin, cited above, that, in order to determine whether the increase in the progression coefficient of the differential tax above the 18 CV threshold has a discriminatory or protective effect in the sense contemplated by Article 95 of the Treaty, it must be examined whether that increase may deter consumers from purchasing vehicles with a fiscal horsepower of over 18 CV, which are all of foreign manufacture, to the benefit of vehicles of domestic manufacture.
23 The Court observed in that connection at paragraphs 23 to 25 of its judgment in Casarin that if the increase in the coefficient for vehicles with a fiscal horsepower of over 18 CV does indeed deter some consumers from buying such vehicles, those consumers will choose a model in the tax band immediately below, the 17-18 CV band, or in the 15-16 CV band.  At the time of the facts in Casarin, those two tax bands included both imported vehicles and vehicles of domestic manufacture, although a very large majority of the vehicles in the 17-18 CV tax band were manufactured abroad and those in the 15-16 CV band were for the most part of domestic manufacture.
24 The Court also found, in the same judgment, first, that consumers did have a wide choice of imported vehicles in the 15-16 CV tax band and, second, that the progression coefficient between the 12-14 CV band and the 15-16 CV band was the same, in round figures, as that between the 15-16 CV band and the 17-18 CV band, so that consumers who were looking for a top-of-the-range vehicle would not be induced to purchase a vehicle in the 15-16 CV band.  It concluded that under a system such as that established by the French legislation on tax on motor vehicles at the time of the facts in Casarin the increase in the progression coefficient for the bands above 18 CV did not have the effect of favouring the sale of vehicles of domestic manufacture.
25 The Court consequently held in Casarin that Article 95 of the Treaty does not preclude the application of national rules on motor vehicle taxation which provide for an increase in the progression coefficient of the kind introduced by the French legislation at issue, in so far as that increase does not have the effect of favouring the sale of vehicles of domestic manufacture over the sale of vehicles imported from other Member States.
26 Whereas in the judgment in Casarin, cited above, the progression in tax increases between the 15-16 CV band and the 17-18 CV band, on the one hand, and between the bands over 18 CV, on the other, was analysed, in this case the first part of the question referred to the Court relates specifically to the progression in tax increases between the 15-16 CV band only, on the one hand, and bands over 18 CV, on the other (the 19-20 CV, 21-22 CV and 23 CV bands).
28 In that connection, it is clear from paragraph 15 of the judgment in Casarin, which refers to paragraph 20 of the Advocate General's Opinion, that products such as cars are similar for the purposes of the first paragraph of Article 95 of the Treaty if their characteristics and the needs which they serve place them in a competitive relationship. As is clear from paragraph 18 of the Advocate General's Opinion in that case, in relation to cars, the degree of competition between two models depends on the extent to which they meet various requirements regarding price, size, comfort, performance, fuel consumption, durability, reliability and other matters.
33 It is settled case-law that it is solely for the national court before which the dispute has been brought, and which must assume responsibility for the subsequent judicial decision, to determine in the light of the particular circumstances of the case both the need for a preliminary ruling in order to enable it to deliver judgment and the relevance of the questions which it submits to the Court (see, inter alia, Case C-415/93 Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association and Others v Bosman and Others [1995] ECR I-4921, paragraph 59).  Nevertheless, the Court has held that it has no jurisdiction to give a preliminary ruling on a question submitted by a national court where it is quite obvious that the interpretation of Community law sought by that court bears no relation to the actual facts of the main action or its purpose or where the problem is hypothetical and the Court does not have before it the factual or legal material necessary to give a useful answer to the questions submitted to it (see, inter alia, Bosman, cited above, paragraph 61).