Compagnie Commerciale de l'Ouest and others v Receveur Principal des Douanes de La Pallice Port.
Date: 1992-03-11
17 Article 3 of the Treaty refers in general terms to the areas with which the activities of the Community are concerned "in accordance with the timetable set out therein".
18 As the Court held in is judgment in Case 231/83 Cullet v Leclerc [1985] ECR 305, paragraph 10, the provisions of Article 3 form part of the general principles of the common market, which are applied in conjunction with the relevant chapters of the Treaty devoted to their implementation, the general objectives set out therein being enlarged upon by the specific rules contained in other provisions. It follows that the article in question cannot be applied independently from the specific provisions of the Treaty which govern the matter at issue.
19 Similarly, the wording of Articles 5 and 6 of the Treaty is so general that there can be no question of applying them independently when the situation concerned is governed by a specific provision of the Treaty, as in the present case. Consequently, the question concerning Articles 3, 5 and 6 of the Treaty does not need to be answered.
Articles 12 and 13, 30 et seq. and 95 of the Treaty
20 The Court has consistently held (see, in particular, the judgment in Case 74/76 Ianelli and Volpi [1977] ECR 557) that the scope of Article 30 does not extend to the obstacles covered by other, specific provisions of the Treaty and that the obstacles which are of a fiscal nature or have an effect equivalent to customs duties and are covered by Articles 9 to 16 and 95 of the Treaty do not fall within the prohibition laid down in Article 30.
22 The provisions on charges having equivalent effect and those on discriminatory internal taxation cannot be applied together (see the judgment in Case 94/74 IGAV v ENCC [1975] ECR 699). The scope of each of those provisions must therefore be defined.
23 Articles 12 and 13 of the Treaty prohibit customs duties on imports and exports in trade between the Member States and charges having equivalent effect. With regard to customs duties and charges having equivalent effect on imports, the Court stated, in its judgment in Case 77/72 Capolongo [1973] ECR 611, that in principle that prohibition covers all charges levied at the time of, or by reason of, importation, which are imposed specifically on an imported product but not on a similar domestic product, and that even pecuniary charges intended to finance the activities of an agency governed by public law can constitute charges having equivalent effect.
25 Article 95 prohibits Member States from directly or indirectly imposing on the products of other Member States any internal taxation in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar domestic products or of such a nature as to afford protection to other domestic products. The applicability of the provision in question therefore depends on whether or not the internal taxation measure is discriminatory or protective.
26 Where a charge is imposed on domestic and imported products according to the same criteria, the Court has nevertheless stated that it may be necessary to take into account the purpose to which the revenue from the charge is put. Thus, if the revenue from such a charge is intended to finance activities for the special advantage of the taxed domestic product, it may follow that the charge imposed on the basis of the same criteria nevertheless constitutes discriminatory taxation in so far as the fiscal burden on the domestic products is neutralized by the advantages which the charge is used to finance whilst the charge on the imported product constitutes a net burden (judgment in Case 73/79 Commission v Italy [1980] ECR 1533, paragraph 15).
27 It follows from the foregoing considerations that if the advantages stemming from the use of the proceeds of the charge in question fully offset the burden borne by the domestic product when it is placed on the market, that charge constitutes a charge having an effect equivalent to customs duties, contrary to Article 12 et seq. of the Treaty. If, on the other hand, those advantages only partly offset the burden borne by domestic products, the charge in question is subject to Article 95 of the Treaty. In the latter case, the charge would be incompatible with Article 95 of the Treaty and is therefore prohibited to the extent to which it discriminates against imported products, that is to say to the extent to which it partially offsets the burden borne by the taxed domestic product.
28 It is for the national court to determine whether the charge imposed on the domestic product is wholly or partly offset by the use of the revenue from the charge in question for the benefit of domestic products.
29 In view of the foregoing considerations, by virtue of which the parafiscal charge at issue is governed either by Article 12 et seq. or by Article 95 of the Treaty, depending on matters of fact to be examined by the national court, Article 30 cannot apply to the present case.