Olasagasti & C. Srl (C-47/95), Comarcon SNC (C-48/95), Ghezzi Alimentari Srl (C-49/95), Fredo Srl (C-50/95), Cateringros Srl (C-60/95), Intercod Srl (C-81/95), Nuova Castelli SpA (C-92/95) and Igino Mazzola SpA (C-148/95) v Amministrazione delle finanze dello Stato.
Date: 1996-12-12
20 Provisions granting suspension of customs duties are to be interpreted strictly according to their terms and may not therefore be applied, contrary to their wording, to products which they do not mention (see, to that effect, Case 58/85 Ethicon v Hauptzollamt Itzenhoe [1986] ECR 1131, paragraph 13).
29 According to settled case-law, such information can only be measures relating to the tariff classification of goods addressed by the competent authorities directly to a particular trader in a specific case (see, to that effect, Case C-80/89 Behn Verpackungsbedarf [1990] ECR I-2659, paragraph 22).
30 Moreover, as the Court indicated in Case C-371/90 Beirafrio v Alfândega do Porto [1992] ECR I-2715, paragraph 15, the category of acts of customs authorities covered by that provision was exhaustively defined by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1715/90 of 20 June 1990 on the information provided by the customs authorities of the Member States concerning the classification of goods in the customs nomenclature (OJ 1990 L 160, p. 1).
32 The second regime, provided for by Article 5(2) of the same regulation, makes the right of the person liable to pay customs duties not to have post-clearance recovery effected by the competent authorities subject to three conditions.  That provision is the subject of settled case-law (see, most recently, Joined Cases C-153/94 and C-204/94 Faroe Seafood and Others [1996] ECR I-2465).
33 First, the competent authorities themselves must have made an error.  In the main proceedings the national court may, irrespective of the question whether or not Circulars Nos 6507/UCTD and 1914/UCTD were binding, take account of the fact that, initially, the competent authorities in Italy confirmed that while the regulation was in force they would not seek to recover duty on imports of goods such as preserved tuna in olive oil from Spain.
34 Second, the error committed by the competent authorities must be such that it could not reasonably have been detected by the person liable, notwithstanding his professional experience and the care expected of him.  In that respect, the national court may first take account of the complexity of the provisions applicable in this case and in particular the fact that the expression `agricultural products' used in Article 38 of the Treaty includes fishery products.  It may then take into consideration the objective of Regulation No 3416/91, namely suspension of duties on products from Spain on the same terms as those applied under another regulation to certain products - including preserved fish - originating in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.  Finally, it may take account of the fact that Regulation No 3416/91 expressly mentioned the regulation suspending duties on products originating in the four South American countries mentioned above.
35 Third, under Article 5 of Regulation No 1697/79 the person liable must have acted in good faith and complied with all the provisions laid down by the legislation in force so far as his customs declaration is concerned.  That too is a matter for the national court.
36 Having regard to the foregoing considerations, the answer to the second question must be that it is for the national court to establish whether the conditions laid down in Article 5(2) of Regulation No 1679/79 are fulfilled.  In determining whether or not the error committed by the authorities could reasonably have been detected by the person liable account should be taken, in particular, of the nature of the error, the professional experience of the trader concerned and the degree of care exercised by him.  The relevant factors to be taken into account include the complexity of the legislation, the terms in which the objective of the provisions at issue is expressed, recurrence of the error in question in other measures of the Member State concerned and any divergence of views between the Member States as to the proper interpretation of the relevant provisions.