larimo/cjeu-paragraph-retrieval huggingface dataset:
Unifert Handels GmbH v Hauptzollamt Münster.
Date: 1990-06-06
11 That argument cannot be upheld . The criterion which emerges from the term "sold for export" relates to the goods and not to the situation of the seller . Placed in its proper context, the term suggests that it is agreed, at the time of sale, that the goods originating in a non-member country will be transported into the customs territory of the Community . Therefore, there is nothing to prevent both parties to such a sale from being established in the Community .
13 It follows from that provision that, for the purposes of Article 3(1 ) of Regulation No 1224/80, it is permitted to use not only the price of a sale concluded immediately before export from a non-member country, but also any of the prices relating to sales made after export but before release into free circulation in the Community, irrespective of the place where the parties to the contract of sale are established .
16 It is evident from Article 6 of Regulation No 1495/80, cited above, that, in the case of successive sales of goods for export to the customs territory of the Community, the importer is at liberty to select from the prices agreed for each of the sales the price which he will take as a basis for customs value, provided that he can furnish to the customs authorities all the necessary particulars and documents relating to the price he chooses, pursuant to Commission Regulation ( EEC ) No 1496/80 of 11 June 1980 on the declaration of particulars relating to customs value and on documents to be furnished ( Official Journal 1980, L 154, p . 16 ).
21 The reply to the second question must therefore be that where, in successive sales of goods, more than one price actually paid or payable fulfils the requirements laid down in Article 3(1 ) of Regulation No 1224/80, any of those prices may be chosen by the importer for the purposes of determining the transaction value . If the importer has referred to one of those prices in the customs value declaration, he may not correct the declaration after the goods have been released for free circulation, in accordance with Article 8(1 ) of Council Directive 79/695/EEC .
Question 3
35 As emerges from the sixth recital in the preamble to Regulation No 1224/80, the objective of the Community rules on customs valuation is to introduce a fair, uniform and neutral system excluding the use of arbitrary or fictitious customs values . That is why unforeseeable reductions in the commercial value of the goods, after they have been purchased but before they have been released for free circulation, must result in a proportional reduction in the price actually paid or payable . They are the circumstances covered by Article 4 of Regulation No 1495/80 and by the judgment of the Court of 12 June 1986 in Case 183/85 Repenning, cited above .
Commission of the European Communities v Ireland.
Date: 1990-06-12
7 This argument cannot be accepted . It is clear from the Court' s case-law ( see in particular the judgment of 14 February 1984 in Case 278/82 Rewe II (( 1984 )) ECR 721, paragraph 31 ) that in the area in question Member States are left with only the restricted power given to them by the actual provisions of the directives in question . No provision is made in those directives for any derogation relating to the duration of journeys .
8 It should be added that in that same judgment the Court held that in the context of travel within the Community the exemptions available in a Member State for goods contained in the personal luggage of travellers are granted as soon as the traveller in question has in fact had an opportunity to make purchases in another Member State ( judgment of 14 February 1984 in Case 278/82, cited above, paragraph 45 ). It follows that the distinction drawn by the regulations in question between "genuine" travellers and "fiscal" travellers in order to deny the latter the benefit of the exemptions provided for in the directive is incompatible therewith .
Michel Weiser v Caisse nationale des barreaux français.
Date: 1990-06-14
14 In should be pointed out in that regard that when the Community legislature lays down rules on the transfer to the Community scheme of pension rights acquired by Community officials under a national scheme, it must comply with the principle of equal treatment . It must therefore avoid laying down rules under which officials are treated differently, unless the circumstances of the persons concerned at the time when they entered the service of the Community justify differences in treatment in view of the particular characteristics of the scheme under which the pension rights were acquired or in view of the fact that they have no such rights .
The Queen v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame Ltd and others.
Date: 1990-06-19
18 For the purpose of replying to that question, it is necessary to point out that in its judgment of 9 March 1978 in Case 106/77 Amministrazione delle finanze dello Stato v Simmenthal SpA (( 1978 )) ECR 629 the Court held that directly applicable rules of Community law "must be fully and uniformly applied in all the Member States from the date of their entry into force and for so long as they continue in force" ( paragraph 14 ) and that "in accordance with the principle of the precedence of Community law, the relationship between provisions of the Treaty and directly applicable measures of the institutions on the one hand and the national law of the Member States on the other is such that those provisions and measures ... by their entry into force render automatically inapplicable any conflicting provision of ... national law" ( paragraph 17 ).
19 In accordance with the case-law of the Court, it is for the national courts, in application of the principle of cooperation laid down in Article 5 of the EEC Treaty, to ensure the legal protection which persons derive from the direct effect of provisions of Community law ( see, most recently, the judgments of 10 July 1980 in Case 811/79 Ariete SpA v Amministrazione delle finanze dello Stato (( 1980 )) ECR 2545 and Case 826/79 Mireco v Amministrazione delle finanze dello Stato (( 1980 )) ECR 2559 ).
20 The Court has also held that any provision of a national legal system and any legislative, administrative or judicial practice which might impair the effectiveness of Community law by withholding from the national court having jurisdiction to apply such law the power to do everything necessary at the moment of its application to set aside national legislative provisions which might prevent, even temporarily, Community rules from having full force and effect are incompatible with those requirements, which are the very essence of Community law ( judgment of 9 March 1978 in Simmenthal, cited above, paragraphs 22 and 23 ).
21 It must be added that the full effectiveness of Community law would be just as much impaired if a rule of national law could prevent a court seised of a dispute governed by Community law from granting interim relief in order to ensure the full effectiveness of the judgment to be given on the existence of the rights claimed under Community law . It follows that a court which in those circumstances would grant interim relief, if it were not for a rule of national law, is obliged to set aside that rule .
Vincenzo Zardi v Consorzio agrario provinciale di Ferrara.
Date: 1990-06-26
9 It must be emphasized, with respect to the first limb of the question, that the additional co-responsibility levy cannot be classified as a fiscal charge . On the contrary, it is an agricultural-policy measure intended to stem and prevent growth in the cereals market, which is characterized by structural surpluses, by bringing direct pressure to bear on the prices paid to cereals producers . It is therefore inappropriate to appraise the legality of the levy by reference to criteria taken from tax law . Moreover, even in national tax regimes, the advance collection of pecuniary charges is permissible . In the present case, the requirement that the levy is to be provisionally collected when the cereals are placed on the market, subject to partial or total reimbursement thereof in the event of its being ascertained at the end of the relevant marketing year that the maximum guaranteed quantity has not been exceeded or has been exceed by less than a specified percentage, is justified by the economic objective pursued by the Community regulation .
10 It should be borne in mind, with respect to the second limb of the question, that the principle of proportionality mentioned by the national court has been consistently held by the Court to be one of the general principles of Community law, By virtue of that principle, the legality of measures imposing financial burdens on economic operators is conditional upon those measures being appropriate to and necessary for the attainment of objectives legitimately pursued by the rules in question, provided however that, where there is a choice between several appropriate measures, the least onerous measure must be used and care must be taken to ensure that the charges imposed are not disproportionate to the aims pursued ( see judgment in Case 265/87 Schraeder (( 1989 )) ECR 2237 ).
Staatssecretaris van Financiën v Velker International Oil Company Ltd NV.
Date: 1990-06-26
16 The term "supply of goods for the fuelling and provisioning of vessels" is capable of bearing several literal meanings . It could refer to the supply of goods which the recipient will use for the fuelling and provisioning of his vessels or the supply, at whatever stage it takes place, of goods which will subsequently be used for that purpose .
17 In order to interpret the term, recourse must therefore be had to the context in which it occurs, bearing in mind the purpose and structure of the Sixth Directive .
19 The provisions in the directive which grant exemption from tax must be interpreted strictly since they constitute exceptions to the general principle that turnover tax is levied on all goods or services supplied for consideration by a taxable person .
21 With regard to Article 15(4 ), it should be noted that the operations of fuelling and provisioning vessels mentioned therein are exempted because they are equated with exports .
22 Just as, in the case of export transactions, the mandatory exemption provided for in Article 15(1 ) applies exclusively to the final supply of goods exported by the seller or on his behalf, likewise the exemption laid down in Article 15(4 ) applies only to the supply of goods to a vessel operator who will use those goods for fuelling and provisioning and cannot therefore be extended to the supply of those goods effected at a previous stage in the commercial chain .
24 That argument cannot be accepted . The extension of the exemption to stages prior to the final supply of the goods to the vessel operator would require Member States to set up systems of supervision and control in order to satisfy themselves as to the ultimate use of the goods supplied free of tax . Far from bringing about administrative simplification, such systems would amount to constraints on the Member States and the traders concerned which it would be impossible to reconcile with the "correct and straightforward application of such exemptions" prescribed in the first paragraph of Article 15 of the Sixth Directive .
Alfons Berkenheide v Hauptzollamt Münster.
Date: 1990-06-27
14 As the Court has held, most recently in its judgment of 27 June 1989 in Case 113/88 Leukhardt v Hauptzollamt Reutlingen (( 1989 )) ECR 1991, paragraph 13 ), the structure and purpose of the regulations on the additional levy indicate that they contain an exhaustive list of the situations in which reference quantities or individual quantities may be granted and set out precise rules concerning the determination of those quantities .
Firma Otto Lingenfelser v Federal Republic of Germany.
Date: 1990-06-27
12 With regard to the question whether the provision which is the subject of the question referred to the Court for a preliminary ruling complies with the principle of proportionality, it is necessary to consider, as the Court has consistently held, whether the penalty exceeds what is appropriate and necessary to attain the objective pursued by the rules which have been breached ( judgments of 20 February 1979 in Case 122/78 Buitoni v Forma (( 1979 )) ECR 677 and of 17 May 1984 in Case 15/83 Denkavit v Hoofdproduktschap voor Akkerbouwprodukten (( 1984 )) ECR 2171 ). More particularly, it is necessary to ascertain whether the means which that provision applies to achieve its aim correspond to the importance of that aim and whether they are necessary in order to achieve it ( judgments of 23 February 1983 in Case 66/82 Fromançais v Forma (( 1983 )) ECR 395 and of 1 October 1985 in Case 125/83 OBEA v Corman (( 1985 )) ECR 3039 ).
Erwin Behn Verpackungsbedarf GmbH v Hauptzollamt Itzehoe.
Date: 1990-06-28
22 By thus making a distinction between the "information" referred to in the first indent of Article 5(1 ) and the "provisions of a general nature" referred to in the second indent of Article 5(1 ), the Community legislature clearly indicated that the word "information" did not include indications given in a document of a general nature addressed to unspecified persons but covered only indications given by the competent authority to a particular trader in a specific case .
Hoche GmbH v Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaftliche Marktordnung.
Date: 1990-06-28
19 That legal consequence can be contrary to the principle of proportionality only if the means employed, in the present case the obligation to lodge security, was not appropriate to achieve the objective pursued or went beyond what was necessary to achieve it ( see, for example, the judgment of 18 November 1987 in Case 137/85 Maizena v BALM (( 1987 )) ECR 4587, paragraph 15 ).
25 As the Court has consistently held, that principle is breached only where comparable situations are treated differently or different situations are treated in the same way, unless such difference in treatment is objectively justified ( see, for instance, the judgment of 13 December 1984 in Case 106/83 Sermide v Cassa conguaglio zucchero (( 1984 )) ECR 4209, paragraph 28 ).
31 In order to answer that question, it must first be recalled that the Court has already ruled that there is no such thing as a general principle of objective unfairness under Community law . The Court has held that there is no legal basis in Community law for exemption on grounds of natural justice from charges due under that law ( judgment of 28 June 1977 in Case 118/76 Balkan-Import-Export v Hauptzollamt Berlin-Packhof (( 1977 )) ECR 1177, paragraphs 8 and 10 ). The Court has also ruled that there is no general legal principle in Community law that a Community provision which is in force may not be applied by a national authority if it causes the person concerned hardship which the Community legislature would clearly have sought to avoid if it had envisaged that eventuality when enacting the provision ( judgment of 14 November 1985 in Case 299/84 Neumann v BALM (( 1985 )) ECR 3663, paragraph 33 ).
33 It should also be pointed out that the tendering system in issue in the main proceedings was not designed to ensure the continued enjoyment by tenderers of advantages which they may have enjoyed at any particular moment . On the contrary, the Commission, which was under an obligation to manage existing butter stocks in an efficient manner, had to adjust its policy to meet fluctuating market conditions ( see, most recently, the judgment of 14 February 1990 in Case C-350/88 Delacre and Others v Commission (( 1990 )) ECR I-395, paragraphs 26 and 32 to 34 ).
Isabelle Lancray SA v Peters und Sickert KG.
Date: 1990-07-03
18 It must therefore be held that the requirements of due service and service in sufficient time constitute two separate and concurrent safeguards for a defendant who fails to appear . The absence of one of those safeguards is therefore a sufficient ground for refusal to recognize a foreign judgment .
20 That reasoning cannot be accepted . First, it is difficult to reconcile that interpretation with the wording of the relevant provision or with the Court' s ruling cited above . Secondly, it would render completely inoperative the requirement of due service . If the sole issue were whether the document came to the defendant' s attention in sufficient time, plaintiffs would be tempted to ignore the prescribed forms for due service, the requirements of which have in any event been considerably relaxed by international agreements . That would create considerable uncertainty as to whether documents had actually been served, thus thwarting the uniform application of the provisions of the Convention . Finally, a defendant could not know with certainty whether proceedings which might lead to a finding against him had been properly instituted and whether it was therefore necessary to arrange for a defence, a situation which would also be inconsistent with the aims of the Convention .
21 It must be added that, as the Court held in its judgment in Case 49/84 Debaecker v Bouwman [1985] ECR 1779, although the Convention is, as is clear from the preamble, intended to secure the simplification of formalities governing the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts or tribunals, that aim cannot be attained by undermining in any way the right to a fair hearing .
23 The answer to the first question must therefore be that Article 27(2 ) of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters is to be interpreted as meaning that a judgment given in default of appearance may not be recognized where the document instituting the proceedings was not served on the defendant in due form, even though it was served in sufficient time to enable him to arrange for his defence .
The second question
28 In its judgment in Case 228/81 Pendy Plastic Products v Pluspunkt [1982] ECR 2723, the Court held that, although they do not seek to harmonize the different systems of service abroad of legal documents which are in force in the Member States, the provisions of the Brussels Convention are designed to ensure that the defendant' s rights are effectively protected . For that reason, jurisdiction to determine whether the document instituting the proceedings was properly served was conferred both on the court of the State in which the judgment was given and on the court of the State in which enforcement is sought .
Klaus Jürgen Kracht v Bundesanstalt für Arbeit.
Date: 1990-07-04
11 In its judgments in Case 191/83 Salzano v Bundesanstalt fuer Arbeit [1984] ECR 3741 and in Case 153/84 Ferraioli v Deutsche Bundespost [1986] ECR 1401, the Court ruled that there is no suspension of the entitlement to family allowances payable in the country of employment of one of the parents when the other parent resides with the children in another Member State and pursues there a professional or trade activity but does not receive family allowances for the children on the ground that not all the conditions laid down in the legislation of that Member State for the actual receipt of such allowances, including the condition that they must first be applied for, are satisfied .
15 The Court has interpreted Article 76 as being designed solely to restrict the possibility of overlapping entitlement to benefits . Construed in those terms, that provision complements Article 73 of the same regulation, which is designed to make it easier for migrant workers to receive family allowances in the State in which they are employed, when their family has not moved with them .
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 1990-07-05
9 In that regard, it is sufficient to point out that a system of authorizations is, in principle, contrary to Article 30 of the EEC Treaty . The Court has already held that Article 30 precludes the application to intra-Community trade of national provisions which require, even as a pure formality, import licences or any other similar procedure ( judgment in Case 124/81 Commission v United Kingdom [1983] ECR 203 - the "UHT milk" case ).
14 In this regard, it is sufficient to point out that a system requiring prior import authorizations constitutes a measure which is disproportionate in relation to the objective of protecting the health and life of humans and animals . It is clear from the Court' s judgment in Case 124/81 Commission v United Kingdom, cited above, that a Member State may adopt measures less restrictive than a system of prior import authorizations in order to protect those interests, by confining itself to obtaining the information which is of use to it, for example, by means of declarations signed by the importers, accompanied if necessary by the appropriate certificates issued by the exporting Member State .
16 In this regard, it must be pointed out that Council Directive 64/432 brought about complete harmonization of the animal-health measures which Member States may adopt in the field of intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine .
19 With such a complete system in place, Member States of destination have no power to adopt, in the field covered by the directive, measures other than those exhaustively laid down therein .
Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 1990-07-05
11 In those circumstances, the Commission has not altered the subject-matter of the dispute by imputing, in the course of the proceedings, its claims concerning the Royal Decree of 27 April 1984 to the regional legislation which replaced that decree .
12 It is therefore appropriate to examine the Commission' s claims concerning the derogations permitted by the national legislation as compared with those provided for by the directive, and those concerning the exclusion of private water supplies from its scope .
13 On that point the Commission submits in the first place that the power conferred by Article 5 of the Decree of the Walloon Regional Executive on the minister responsible for local authorities, subsidized works and water, to authorize maximum permissible concentrations to be exceeded in the event of serious accidental circumstances or situations resulting from exceptional meteorological conditions, "in so far as the excess amount does not entail any unacceptable risk to public health and the network distribution cannot be assured in any other manner", is incompatible with Article 9(3 ) of the directive .
17 It follows from that provision that the directive applies only to water supplied for human consumption and to water used in foodstuffs by a food production undertaking and that water from private sources of supply is excluded from its scope .
23 It should be observed in that connection that a request for a longer period for complying with Annex 1 must, in accordance with Article 20 of the directive, be made within the period laid down in Article 19 for the transposition of the directive into national law . After the expiry of that period derogations are permissible only in the case of serious accidents and under the conditions laid down in Article 10 of the directive . The request by the Belgian Government was made more than four years after expiry of the abovementioned period .
24 As regards, finally, the difficulties, pleaded by the Belgian Government, in ensuring that the water supplied to the town of Verviers is in conformity with the directive, it should be borne in mind that, according to the case-law of the Court, a Member State may not plead practical or administrative difficulties in order to justify non-compliance with the obligations and time-limits laid down in Community directives . The same holds true of financial difficulties, which it is for the Member States to overcome by adopting appropriate measures .