natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Kommissionen bemærkede endvidere i indledningsafgørelsen, at der ikke var blevet fremlagt nogen data til støtte for påstanden om, at omkostningsstigningen påvirkede virksomhedernes omsætning og mindskede deres fortjenester.
Nevertheless, the Commission takes note that United Kingdom undertook by way of their letter from 1 April 2014 to rectify the incompatibility of the AGL relief with Article 110 of the Treaty by reimbursing the amounts collected that are incompatible with the internal market in accordance with the criteria described in recitals 99 to 103.
Til trods for store vanskeligheder med at indsamle relevante oplysninger fremlagde Det Forenede Kongerige dog oplysninger til støtte for denne påstand, jf. punkt 2.3.4-2.3.7.
The scope of the remedy is to enable acquisitions of aggregate into Northern Ireland from other Member States, and that paid the full rate of the AGL during the period in which AGL relief scheme operated between 2004 and 2010, to benefit from the 80 % aggregates levy credit that was available to Northern Ireland quarry operators participating in the AGL relief.
Det Forenede Kongerige fremsendte endvidere oplysninger, der viste den store konkurrence, som nordirske granulatproducenter er udsat for, og deres mindre spillerum for prisstigninger på grund af det større udbud af substituerbare produkter, manglende vertikal integration på markedet og et større antal producenter med mindre markedsandele (se betragtning 34-40).
The aim of introducing the proposed scheme would be to address any inequity that may have occurred.
Kommissionen bemærkede også i indledningsafgørelsen, at data for efterspørgselspriselasticiteten pegede på, at efterspørgslen ville være uelastisk.
The Commission notes the impossibility, alleged by the United Kingdom in its letter of 17 September 2012, of identifying the foreign quarries that sold aggregates subject to the AGL that were imported and used in Northern Ireland.
Kommissionen bemærker, at Det Forenede Kongerige som følge af BAA's bemærkning om, at de økonomiske data, som Det Forenede Kongerige har fremlagt, jf. betragtning 21-23 i indledningsafgørelsen, er utroværdige og potentielt vildledende, har fremlagt yderligere, mere detaljerede data (betragtning 27) vedrørende priserne på granulater i Nordirland og Storbritannien.
The retroactive scheme proposed ensures that anyone who provides evidence that they accounted to HMRC for the AGL at the full rate on acquisitions of aggregate that were imported into Northern Ireland from other Member States between 1 April 2004 and 30 November 2010 (‘the relevant period’), and met specific environmental criteria and specified conditions, would be eligible to claim an 80 % credit on the levy paid.
Dataene viser, at granulatafgiften til fuld sats ville have udgjort en meget større del af salgsprisen i et allerede trykket marked.
As the retroactive scheme needs to ensure that only the imports of aggregates from quarries that meet the same environmental standards as the Northern Ireland quarries that were eligible for the relief, benefit from the reimbursement mechanism, the United Kingdom had to provide for a verification mechanism.
Kommissionen overvejede endvidere, hvad der er årsagen til, at granulatafgiften kunne væltes over på forbrugerne i Storbritannien, men ikke i Nordirland.
The Commission acknowledges that for the retroactive scheme to be actually applicable and not unnecessarily burdensome, the United Kingdom will not verify if the foreign quarries met the exact standards imposed on Northern Ireland quarries, as in reality they would have had no incentive to do so, but at least the environmental standards provided at the time by the Union relevant legislation transposed in the respective national legislations.
I den forbindelse anerkender Kommissionen Det Forenede Kongeriges vurdering som beskrevet i detaljer i betragtning 34-40 og bekræftet af Office of Fair Trading (OFT) i dets rapport om granulater [31], nemlig at granulatmarkedet i Nordirland er et andet geografisk marked end markedet i Storbritannien, og at de nordirske granulatproducenter har mindre spillerum til at overvælte den fulde afgift på deres kunder.
The Department of Environment (DoE) Northern Ireland would assure the environmental standards of any potential claimant and would run a year-long registration period starting from the publication of the draft retroactive relief legislation in the United Kingdom.
Kommissionen bemærkede også, at muligheden for prisstigninger i Nordirland tilsyneladende i vidt omfang også er begrænset af de højere produktionsomkostninger, som de oplever på mange områder.
In order to be entitled to the relief, the claimant would have to show the quarry outside of the United Kingdom from which the aggregate originated and apply to the DoE in Northern Ireland for a certificate that environmental standards compliant with Union legislation were met by the quarry at the time.
Det Forenede Kongerige godtgjorde, at dataene fra fire af de fem største virksomheder i branchen afslørede, at fortjenstmarginerne allerede er meget snævre, idet mange stenbrud kører med tab i nogle år, også på grund af de højere omkostninger til elektricitet og anlægstilladelser (se betragtning 25).
The DoE would then consult authorities in other Member States to ascertain the applicable standards and their compliance.
Kommissionen bemærker, at de data, som Det Forende Kongerige har fremlagt, og som er beskrevet i punkt 2.3.6, reelt viser, at granulatindustrien i Nordirland havde en meget høj handelseksponering, der generelt lå over 10 % og endog nåede op på 24,25 %.
If satisfied, the DoE would then issue a compliance certificate that would be available to HMRC [28] ensuring it had the necessary information to process claims for repayment of levy.
Som påpeget af Det Forenede Kongerige kunne handelseksponeringen muligvis være endnu højere på grund af ikkeangiven import fra Nordirland.
For applications regarding the same quarry the same certificate would be applicable.
Kommissionen fandt i sin hidtidige praksis [32], at allerede en handelseksponering på over 10 % ville udgøre en risiko for den pågældende industris konkurrenceevne.
Claims for reimbursement would have to contain the following documentary evidence: the aggregates have been acquired from a quarry from another Member State during the relevant period; the quarry has been certified by the DoE; the full rate AGL was paid; and no relief for other purposes has been claimed.
Kommissionen anerkendte endvidere, at en høj grad af eksponering kombineret med små markedsandele gør det umuligt at overvælte en væsentlig del af ekstraomkostningerne på forbrugerne [33] uden en salgsnedgang.
Proof of acquisition could consist of appropriate commercial documentation showing the date of transaction and the origin of the aggregate.
Kommissionen bemærker imidlertid, at dataene for asfalt og sand ikke følger denne tendens og har en meget lavere handelseksponering.
The registered taxpayers' aggregates levy account could serve as proof that the full rate AGL was paid and that no other relief was claimed.
Sand og asfalt følger dog ikke samme tendenser som de andre udyrkede eller forarbejdede granulater.
This is part of the taxpayers own records as the authorities are only provided with the total amount of the levy due on taxable aggregate commercially exploited.
Tallene viser generelt et fald i import og eksport.
The Commission acknowledges the difficulties that possible claimants could have in providing such documentation due to the long period of time elapsed since the introduction of the AGL relief [29].
Dette indvirker naturligvis på beregningen af handelseksponeringen.
The retroactive remedy proposed by the United Kingdom has the following main characteristics:
Det bør nævnes, at importerede forarbejdede granulater aldrig var belagt med granulatafgift, hvilket betød, at importeret asfalt efter suspensionen af fritagelsen fra granulatafgiften, hvor nordirsk asfalt blev pålagt fuld granulatafgift, blev meget billigere.
It will be widely publicised, including through advertisement in the national press in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Kommissionen bemærker endvidere, at granulatmarkedet for alle typer af udyrkede granulater udgør ét produktmarked.
Therefore, publicising the retroactive scheme will include, amongst others, letters to each aggregates levy business registered in Northern Ireland, including anyone that might have been registered during the relevant period but who has since deregistered.
Dette skyldes, at forskellige uforarbejdede granulater er substituerbare, hvilket er blevet bekræftet af OFT i sin rapport fra 2012 [34], da det vurderede markederne for granulater (udyrkede granulater), cement og færdigblandet beton og ikke opdelte granulatmarkedet.
It will be legislated for at the next feasible Finance Bill after the Commission's decision.
Derfor konkluderer Kommissionen, at de forskellige grader af handelseksponering for sand og asfalt sammenlignet med de andre typer af granulater ikke er relevante for dens vurdering, for det første fordi sand og asfalt betragtes samlet, selv om de tilhører forskellige produktmarkeder, idet sand henhører under den første kategori af knust stengranulat, og sand er et forarbejdet granulat, og for det andet fordi tallene er påvirket af importtendenser, der sandsynligvis vedrører asfalt.
The United Kingdom informed the Commission that work on the draft piece of legislation has already started in April 2014 while already providing the Commission with a specimen of the AGL return form.
Kommissionen konkluderer, at Det Forenede Kongerige nu har dokumenteret, at den betydelige stigning i produktionsomkostningerne som følge af granulatafgiften ikke kunne være blevet overvæltet på forbrugerne uden en betydelig salgsnedgang, og at betingelsen for forenelighed, jf. punkt 158, litra c), i miljøretningslinjerne fra 2008, er opfyldt.
It is envisaged that the retroactive scheme could enter into force in April or May 2015.
Kommissionen kan således drage en positiv konklusion af vurderingen af foranstaltningens forenelighed med traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), på grundlag af miljøretningslinjerne fra 2008.
It will provide for a 1 year registration period with the DoE from the point at which draft legislation is published, ensuring that DoE has enough time to investigate the relevant quarries.
KONKLUSION
It will run for 4 years from the point at which legislation is passed (i.e. after Royal Assent to the relevant Finance Bill).
Som forklaret i betragtning 40 i indledningsafgørelsen fandt Kommissionen, at Det Forenede Kongerige ulovligt har gennemført den ændrede fritagelse for granulatafgiften i Nordirland i strid med traktatens artikel 108, stk. 3.
It will not be limited in terms of the fund's size.
I betragtning af, at Det Forenede Kongerige har påtaget sig at træffe afhjælpende foranstaltninger med tilbagevirkende kraft, finder Kommissionen imidlertid, at den ændrede fritagelse for granulatafgiften er forenelig med traktatens artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), på grundlag af miljørammebestemmelserne fra 2001, og på grundlag af miljøretningslinjerne fra 2008 —
It will include interest payments within the retrospective reimbursement of the levy.
VEDTAGET DENNE AFGØRELSE:
The interest rate would be calculated in accordance with Article 9 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 [30].
Artikel 1
It will ensure payments are processed as quickly as possible (the exact period would be dependent upon the time taken by authorities in other Member States to verify the environmental credentials of quarries from which aggregate was imported into Northern Ireland).
Den ændrede fritagelse for granulatafgiften, som Det Forenede Kongerige har gennemført mellem den 1. april 2004 og den 30. november 2010, er forenelig med det indre marked i henhold til artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), i traktaten om Den Europæiske Unions funktionsmåde, forudsat at Det Forenede Kongerige opfylder forpligtelserne i artikel 2.
The Commission therefore considers that the United Kingdom have undertaken to establish an appropriate instrument to remedy any discrimination which may have occurred in the past.
Artikel 2
Assessment under the 2001 Environmental Aid Guidelines
For at fjerne den forskelsbehandling, der ramte de virksomheder, som importerede granulater til Nordirland og svarede fuld granulatafgift uden mulighed for at nyde godt af den ændrede fritagelse for afgiften, som gjaldt i Nordirland, gennemfører Det Forenede Kongeriges myndigheder en ordning med henblik på med tilbagevirkende kraft at tilbagebetale 80 % af den fulde afgift, der er opkrævet hos importører af granulater til Nordirland mellem den 1. april 2004 og 30. november 2010.
As indicated in recital 56, the Commission could not positively conclude on its assessment of the AGL relief under the 2001 Environmental Aid Guidelines due to the doubts it had in relation to Article 110 of the Treaty.
Tilbagebetalingsordningen omfatter en etårig periode for registrering hos det nordirske miljøministerium fra datoen for offentliggørelsen af udkastet til lovgivning.
As the United Kingdom will establish an appropriate instrument to remedy any discrimination stemming from the measure, the Commission can now conclude that the measure is compatible with the internal market on the basis of the 2001 Environmental Aid Guidelines.
Tilbagebetalingsordningen løber i fire år fra datoen for dens ikrafttrædelse.
The Commission notes the comments submitted by BAA in respect of the assessment of the measure in the Opening Decision and the comments from the United Kingdom in this respect.
Der vil blive lovgivet om tilbagebetalingen i den først kommende finanslov efter denne afgørelse.
The Commission finds that no new arguments have been brought forward that had not already been taken into account by the Commission and that there are no reasons why its assessment in the Opening Decision should be altered.
Tilbagebetalingsordningen er ikke begrænset af finansieringsstørrelse og omfatter rentebetalinger til en sats, der beregnes i overensstemmelse med artikel 9 i forordning (EF) nr. 794/2004 af 21. april 2004 om gennemførelse af forordning (EF) nr. 659/1999.
Assessment under the 2008 Environmental Aid Guidelines
Det Forenede Kongerige bekendtgør tilbagebetalingsordningen vidt og bredt gennem annoncer i den nationale presse i Nordirland og Republikken Irland.
The Commission assessed in the Opening Decision the compatibility of the measure with the internal market on the basis of the 2008 Environmental Aid Guidelines.
Artikel 3
The Commission's assessment was positive in all respects except for the compliance with point 158(c) of the 2008 Environmental Aid Guidelines, i.e. with the necessity criteria which requires that the substantial increase in production costs caused by the AGL could not have been passed on to customers without leading to important sales reductions by the beneficiaries of the AGL relief in Northern Ireland.
Det Forenede Kongerige underretter senest ét år efter datoen for meddelelsen af denne afgørelse Kommissionen om de foranstaltninger, der er truffet for at efterkomme den.
In the Opening Decision the Commission pointed out that the United Kingdom had not taken into account properly the impact of the fact that the manufacturers of processed products from aggregates had never paid the full AGL on the average price increases in Northern Ireland as compared to price increases in Great Britain in 2001 and 2002 following the introduction of the AGL.
Det Forenede Kongerige sender årlige rapporter til Kommissionen om gennemførelsen af tilbagebetalingsproceduren, jf. artikel 2, fra meddelelsen af denne afgørelse og indtil udløbet af fristen på fire år, jf. artikel 2, stk. 2.
The United Kingdom has now provided an estimate on the impact of such processed products on the data showing that, indeed, the level of the price increases points towards the impossibility to pass on the AGL (see recital 46).
Artikel 4
Furthermore, with respect to the demonstration of sales reductions, the Commission noted that United Kingdom had not provided explanations concerning the development of the aggregates markets in Northern Ireland after 2002.
Denne afgørelse er rettet til Det Forenede Kongerige Storbritannien og Nordirland.
The data that had been provided showed increase in production as from 2004 to 2007.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den 4. august 2014.
As indicated in recitals 47 to 49, data from a representative sample of the aggregates producers in Northern Ireland have been provided, including production trends.
På Kommissionens vegne
However, those appear to have followed closely construction trends and were greatly affected by the economic recession starting in 2008 and thus would not be fully relevant in demonstrating sales reductions due to the introduction of the AGL.
Næstformand
The Commission further noted in the Opening Decision that no data had been presented in support of the submission that costs increase affected operators' turnover and reduced their profits.
EUT C 245 af 24.8.2011, s. 10, med berigtigelse i EUT C 328 af 11.11.2011, s. 11.
Despite great difficulties in collecting relevant information, the United Kingdom did provide information in support of that allegation, as described in Sections 2.3.4 to 2.3.7.
Den gradvise indførelse af granulatafgiften.
In addition, the United Kingdom provided information showing the high competition which Northern Ireland aggregates producers are facing and their small margins for price increases due to the greater supply of interchangeable products, lack of vertical integration of the market, large number of producers with small market shares (see recitals 34 to 40).
EUT C 133 af 5.6.2002, s. 11.
The Commission also noted, in the Opening Decision, that the price elasticity of demand data pointed to the fact that the demand would be inelastic.
EUT C 81 af 2.4.2005, s. 4.
The United Kingdom has now shown that the respective data referred to the entire United Kingdom and could not be relevant for Northern Ireland alone.
Dom af 9. september 2010 i sag T-359/04, British Aggregates m.fl. mod Kommissionen, Sml. 2010 II, s. 4227.
The Commission acknowledges the United Kingdom's explanations that the specific elasticity for the Northern Ireland market cannot be calculated.
Se fodnote 1.
The Commission notes that, following BAA's comment that the economic data put forward by the United Kingdom, indicated in recitals 21 to 23 of the Opening Decision are implausible and possibly misleading, the United Kingdom provided further, more detailed data (recital 27) as regards the prices of aggregates in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain.
Granulatafgiften pålægges importerede rå granulater, men ikke granulater indeholdt i importerede forarbejdede produkter.
The data shows that the AGL at the full rate would have indeed represented a much higher proportion of the selling price in an already suppressed market.
Den 2. april 2008, dvs. den dag, fra hvilken EF-retningslinjerne for statsstøtte til miljøbeskyttelse fandt anvendelse, var satsen for granulatafgiften 1,95 GBP pr. ton.
The Commission further considered why it is that the AGL could be passed on to consumers in Great Britain, but not in Northern Ireland.
EFT C 37 af 3.2.2001, s. 3.
In this respect, the Commission acknowledges the assessment of the United Kingdom as described in recitals 34 to 40, confirmed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in its report on Aggregates [31] that the Northern Ireland aggregates market is a different geographical market than that of Great Britain and that there may be less leeway for Northern Irish aggregates producers to pass on the full levy to their customers.
Granulater udvundet i Nordirland og sendt til et bestemmelsessted i Storbritannien blev pålagt granulatafgiften til fuld sats.
The Commission also notes that the scope for price increases in Northern Ireland is also, apparently, limited to a great extent by the higher production costs they face in many areas.
Dette var også tilfældet med granulater udvundet i Nordirland, der blev anvendt til fremstilling af forarbejdede produkter, som blev sendt til Storbritannien.
The United Kingdom showed that data provided by four of the top five companies within the industry revealed that profit margins are already extremely tight, with many quarries running at a loss for some years, due also to the higher costs with electricity and planning permissions (see recital 25).
Dette sikrede, at granulater og forarbejdede produkter fra Nordirland ikke nød godt af en konkurrencefordel på markedet i Storbritannien.
The Commission notes that, although not spread by years and by type of aggregates, the data provided by the United Kingdom and described in Section 2.3.6, do show that the aggregates industry in Northern Ireland was faced with a high trade exposure, in general exceeding 10 % and reaching even 24,25 %.
Distributionsomkostningerne afhænger af transportafstande med transportomkostninger på mellem 0,15-0,20 GBP pr. ton pr. mile for granulat, der leveres inden for 10-15 miles, afhængigt af de lokale forhold.
As pointed out by the United Kingdom, due to undeclared imports from Northern Ireland, the trade exposure could possibly even be much higher.
Data for Nordirland fra den årlige undersøgelse af mineraler, der udføres af det nordirske ministerium for erhvervspolitik, handel og investeringer, og data for Storbritannien fra det nationale statistiske kontor (ONS), der er indsamlet gennem den årlige undersøgelse af udvundne mineraler.
In previous practice [32], the Commission considered that already a trade exposure above 10 % would constitute a risk to the competitiveness of the respective industry.
Forretningshemmelighed.
Moreover, the Commission acknowledged that a high trade exposure in combination with low market shares makes it impossible to pass a substantial extra cost on to consumers [33] without losing sales volumes.
Koncentrationen af et lille antal store virksomheder og den vertikale integration af deres aktiviteter blev anført som nogle af grundene til, at Office of Fair Trading (kontoret for god markedsføringsskik) i august 2011 indgav en klage til Competition Commission (konkurrencemyndigheden) over markederne for granulater, cement og beton.
The Commission however notes that the data for asphalt and sand do not follow that trend and have a much lower trade exposure.
I forbindelse med samme klage sondrer Office of Fair Trading mellem det nordirske marked og Det Forenede Kongeriges generelle marked på grund af de særlige forhold, der kendetegner det.
However, sand and asphalt do not follow the same trends as the other virgin or processed aggregates.
Office of Fair Trading fandt endvidere, at det nordirske granulatmarked ikke giver anledning til de samme konkurrencemæssige betænkeligheder som Det Forenede Kongeriges generelle marked.
In general, the figures show a decrease in imports and exports.
Disse bygger primært på tal fra Grant Thorntons rapport om InterTradeIreland, der blev offentliggjort i 2012, og som frem- og tilbageprojicerer dataene efter årlige procentuelle ændringer i den samlede byggeaktivitet i Nordirland.
However, sand and asphalt imports appear to have doubled in recent years.
De vigtigste aktører inden for branchen har også kontrolleret tallene og konstateret, at de udgør rimelige skøn.
That, of course, affects the calculation of the trade exposure.
Det er ikke desto mindre sandsynligt, at en stor andel af denne stigning kan tilskrives forarbejdede asfaltprodukter, der importeres fra Republikken Irland.
Mention should be made that imported processed aggregates were never liable for the AGL, meaning that after the suspension of the AGL relief, when Northern Irish asphalt became subject to the full AGL, imported asphalt became automatically much cheaper.
Mens sand fortsat ville blive belagt med granulatafgift ved import til Det Forenede Kongerige, ville forarbejdede asfaltprodukter ikke blive det og ville derfor kunne nyde godt af lavere produktionsomkostninger og være mere konkurrencedygtige på det samme marked i Nordirland end lokal asfalt.
Therefore, the imports trend could have been influenced by that price difference.