natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The Port of Rotterdam asks the Commission to postpone subjecting the Dutch ports to corporate tax until a sector inquiry has been carried out and all the seaports in the North Range become subject simultaneously to the tax or, at the very least, to subject the Belgian and French ports to corporate tax rapidly and simultaneously.
POTREBA ZA PRIJELAZNIM RAZDOBLJEM
ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURES
Belgijska nadležna tijela od Komisije traže prijelazno razdoblje u pogledu oporezivanja luka porezom na dobit.
PRESENCE OF STATE AID WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 107(1) TFEU
Ističu da je rok predviđen odlukom o pokretanju postupka od 8. srpnja 2016. (oporezivanje luka porezom na dobit od 1. siječnja 2017.) prekratak, osobito u odnosu na rok odobren Nizozemskoj u okviru predmeta SA.25338.
According to Article 107(1) TFEU, any aid granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Member States, be incompatible with the internal market.
Ističu da brisanje članka 180. stavka 2. zakona CIR podrazumijeva zakonodavni postupak koji „općenito traje najmanje tri do šest mjeseci”.
General remarks
Smatraju da valja provesti složenije izmjene zakona od samog brisanja članka 180. stavka 2. zakona CIR i. jer to brisanje ne bi nužno dovelo do oporezivanja luka porezom na dobit, ii. jer se pri izradi novog sustava oporezivanja luka mora uzeti u obzir ustavno načelo jednakosti i iii. jer prelazak pravne osobe sa sustava poreza za pravne osobe na porez na dobit nije izričito uređen belgijskim poreznim pravom.
According to the Court of Justice, an economic activity is ‘any activity consisting in offering goods and services on a given market’ [22].
Dodaju da Komisija u slučaju isteka sustava potpore za koju se pretpostavlja da je postojeća mora poštovati legitimne interese države članice u pogledu osiguranja pravne sigurnosti za korisnike.
Likewise, ‘The concept of an undertaking covers any entity engaged in an economic activity, regardless of its legal status and the way in which it is financed.’ [23]
Luka grada Rotterdama zahtijeva od Komisije da odgodi oporezivanje nizozemskih luka porezom na dobit do provedbe sektorskog istraživanja te da se sve morske luke koje se nalaze u sjevernom rasponu istodobno počnu oporezivati ili barem da se belgijske i francuske luke počnu brzo i istodobno oporezivati porezom na dobit.
In addition, in accordance with the case-law on the economic nature of the operation of infrastructures [24], the Commission has established, in a series of decisions, that the commercial operation and construction of port infrastructure constitute economic activities [25].
OCJENA MJERA
For example, the commercial operation of a port terminal by making it available to users against the payment of a fee constitutes an economic activity [26].
POSTOJANJE DRŽAVNE POTPORE U SMISLU ČLANKA 107.
Likewise, the Court of Justice has already implicitly, but definitely, recognised the economic nature of certain port operations, in particular the ‘loading, unloading, transhipment, storage and general movement of goods or material of any kind within the port’ [27].
STAVKA 1.
The Commission applies these rules not only to seaports, but also to inland ports [28].
UFEU-A
In this respect, and unlike the Belgian authorities and certain interested parties, the Commission considers that the case-law of the Court concerning airports must be applied to ports, which are simply another type of infrastructure.
Na temelju članka 107. stavka 1.
The differences identified by certain interested parties between ports and airports – and especially the differences in legal structure or the fact that the ports are public-law entities which are not profit-oriented – are not relevant in terms of the general criterion relating to the supply of goods or services on a market, which forms the basis for the Court case-law.
UFEU-a utvrđeno je da je svaka potpora koju dodijeli država članica ili koja se dodjeljuje putem državnih sredstava u bilo kojem obliku kojim se narušava ili prijeti da će narušiti tržišno natjecanje stavljanjem određenih poduzetnika ili proizvodnje određene robe u povoljniji položaj, nespojiva s unutarnjim tržištem u mjeri u kojoj utječe na trgovinu među državama članicama.
Likewise, the Commission notes that the Court, in paragraph 90 of the Aéroports de Paris judgment, recalls that ‘the Court of First Instance properly found that the commercial fees in issue constituted consideration for […] services as manager of the airport facilities’; it is therefore incorrect to assert that this case did not relate to the supply of infrastructure services, as the Belgian authorities and certain interested parties maintain.
Općenito
In order to determine whether the Belgian ports are undertakings, there is no need to evaluate the economic or non-economic nature of each of their activities.
Prema Sudu Europske unije „sve djelatnosti koje se sastoje od ponude roba i usluga na tržištu čine gospodarsku djelatnost” [22].
It is sufficient to establish that the entities referred to by the measure at issue in fact engage in one or more economic activities, for which they will be regarded as an ‘undertaking’.
Jednako tako, „pojam poduzetnika obuhvaća svako tijelo koje obavlja gospodarsku djelatnost, neovisno o pravnom obliku tog tijela i načinu njegovog financiranja” [23].
In this respect, the fact that an entity engages in one or more sovereign or non-economic activities does not disqualify it altogether from being designated an ‘undertaking’.
Nadalje, u skladu sa sudskom praksom o gospodarskoj naravi iskorištavanja infrastrukture [24] Komisija je nizom odluka utvrdila da komercijalno iskorištavanje i izgradnja lučke infrastrukture čine gospodarske djelatnosti [25].
The Belgian ports may engage in several types of economic activity corresponding to the supply of various services on different markets.
Na primjer, komercijalno upravljanje lučkim terminalom za čiju upotrebu korisnici plaćaju naknadu čini gospodarsku djelatnost [26].
First, the ports provide a general service to their users (mainly shipowners, more generally any operator of a vessel) by providing ships with access to the port infrastructure in exchange for a remuneration generally known as ‘port charges’ [29].
Jednako tako, Sud Europske unije već je implicitno, ali nedvosmisleno priznao gospodarsku narav određenih lučkih djelatnosti, osobito „utovara, istovara, pretovara, deponiranja i općenito rukovanja robom ili svim materijalom u luci” [27].
Second, certain ports provide particular services to ships, such as piloting, lifting, handling, mooring, also in exchange for remuneration [30].
Komisija ne primjenjuje ta pravila samo na morske luke nego i na luke unutarnjih plovnih putova [28].
Third, the ports, for remuneration, make certain infrastructure or certain land available to undertakings, which use these areas for their own needs or to supply some of the aforementioned particular services to ships.
U tom pogledu i protivno mišljenju belgijskih nadležnih tijela i određenih zainteresiranih strana, Komisija smatra da se sudska praksa Suda koja se odnosi na zračne luke mora primjenjivati i na luke, koje su tek druga vrsta infrastrukture.
The fact that third-party undertakings use certain port land and infrastructure to provide services to shipowners or ships does not prevent the management activities carried out by the port authorities, consisting in particular in renting the land and infrastructure to these third-party undertakings, also being of an economic nature.
Razlike između luka i zračnih luka koje su istaknule određene zainteresirane strane, među ostalim razlike u pravnoj strukturi ili činjenica da su luke javnopravna tijela koja ne nastoje ostvariti dobit, nisu relevantne u pogledu općeg kriterija koji se odnosi na ponudu robe ili usluge na tržištu koji je utvrđen sudskom praksom Suda.
The Commission also points out that Belgian domestic law itself contains indications concerning the industrial and/or commercial nature of the port activities [31], In particular, the official administrative comments on the CIR necessarily imply that the ports operate ‘an industrial, commercial or agricultural undertaking of some kind’ [32] or that, even on a non-profit-making basis, they engage in ‘a permanent professional activity consisting of […] the repetition, which is sufficiently frequent to constitute an ‘occupation’, of operations of an industrial, commercial or agricultural nature the use of industrial or commercial methods’ [33] [34].
Jednako tako, Komisija navodi da Sud u točki 90. presude Aéroports de Pariz podsjeća da je „Opći sud pravilno utvrdio da predmetne komercijalne naknade čine naknadu za usluge upravljanja instalacijama zračnih luka”; prema tome, netočno je tvrditi da se taj predmet ne odnosi na pružanje usluga povezanih s infrastrukturom, kako tvrde belgijska nadležna tijela i određene zainteresirane strane.
Moreover, the Commission does not dispute the fact that certain activities of the ports may be of a non-economic nature, especially some of the services supplied by the harbourmasters, such as maritime traffic control and safety [35] or anti-pollution surveillance [36].
Kako bi se utvrdilo jesu li belgijske luke poduzetnici, nije potrebno ocijeniti gospodarsku ili negospodarsku narav svake od njihovih djelatnosti.
In the present case, the activities considered by the Commission to be economic are nevertheless separate from these (other) activities mentioned in the previous sentence.
Dovoljno je utvrditi da subjekti obuhvaćeni predmetnom mjerom obavljaju jednu gospodarsku djelatnost ili više njih, zbog čijeg se obavljanja smatraju „poduzetnicima”.
The Commission also notes that, although the national authorities have ‘wide discretion […] in providing, commissioning and organising services of general economic interest as closely as possible to the needs of the users’ [37], this does not preclude these activities being of an economic nature.
U tom pogledu činjenica da subjekt obavlja jednu gospodarsku djelatnost ili više njih nije dovoljna da se općenito utvrdi da taj subjekt nije „poduzetnik”.
It is settled case-law that the concept of ‘economic activity’ itself derives from matters of fact, in particular the existence of a market for the services concerned [38], and does not depend on national choices or assessments.
Belgijske luke mogu obavljati različite vrste gospodarskih djelatnosti koje odgovaraju pružanju različitih usluga na različitim tržištima.
The Commission is therefore justified in classing certain port activities as economic, even though the national authorities consider these activities to constitute non-economic services of general interest.
Prvo, luke pružaju opću uslugu svojim korisnicima (to su ponajprije brodovlasnici ili, općenito, svi operateri plovila) na način da plovilima omogućuju pristup lučkoj infrastrukturi u zamjenu za naknadu koja se općenito naziva „lučkom pristojbom” [29].
Finally, the following considerations do not per se call into question the economic or non-economic nature of the activities carried out:
Drugo, određene luke pružaju posebne usluge plovilima kao što su upravljanje, podizanje, održavanje i sidrenje, isto u zamjenu za naknadu [30].
The fact that the tasks of ports are of general interest and imposed on or delegated to them by the public authorities: this is the case for all services of general economic interest (‘SGEIs’), which are nevertheless economic activities.
Treće, luke u zamjenu za naknadu stavljaju određenu infrastrukturu ili određeno zemljište na raspolaganje poduzetnicima koji te prostore upotrebljavaju za vlastite potrebe ili kako bi pružali određene prethodno spomenute posebne usluge za plovila.
More generally, ‘the fact that a particular service is provided in-house has no relevance for the economic nature of the activity’ [39].
Činjenica da treći poduzetnici upotrebljavaju određeno lučko zemljište i infrastrukturu za pružanje usluga brodovlasnicima ili plovilima ne isključuje činjenicu da su djelatnosti upravljanja koje obavljaju lučke uprave, a koje se osobito sastoje od davanja tih zemljišta i infrastruktura u najam tim trećim poduzetnicima, djelatnosti gospodarske naravi.
On the other hand, the general interest may be taken into consideration to assess, where appropriate, compatibility of aid granted by a State to an undertaking to support its economic activity.The fact that the port authorities are vested with special powers to perform these tasks [40]: such special powers do not prevent the port authorities from being able to engage in an economic activity by offering goods or services on a market.
Komisija tvrdi i da samo belgijsko unutarnje pravo sadržava navode o industrijskoj i/ili komercijalnoj naravi lučkih djelatnosti [31].
Where appropriate, these powers may constitute an instrument for intervening on this market.The fact that the port authorities increasingly themselves have to finance non-economic activities coming within the responsibilities of the regions, and even activities unrelated to port operation: such a characteristic in no way alters the economic nature of the port activities consisting of supplying goods or services on a market.
Iz službenog komentara zakona CIR osobito proizlazi da luke obavljaju „bilo kakvu industrijsku, komercijalnu ili poljoprivrednu djelatnost” [32] ili da, čak i ako su neprofitne, obavljaju „stalnu gospodarsku djelatnost koja obuhvaća […] dovoljno učestalo ponavljanje industrijskih, komercijalnih ili poljoprivrednih aktivnosti kako bi ona činila ‚zanimanje’ [i] primjenu industrijskih ili komercijalnih metoda” [33] [34].
Absent or imperfect compensation by the State for the costs associated with non-economic activities that it imposes on the ports confirms, rather than refutes, the fact that ports engage in economic activities alongside certain non-economic activities.
Nadalje, Komisija ne osporava da određene djelatnosti luka mogu biti negospodarske naravi, među ostalim određene usluge koje pružaju kapetanije, kao što su nadzor i sigurnost pomorskog prometa [35] ili nadzor u svrhu sprječavanja onečišćenja [36].
The tax benefit derived by a port from the scheme at issue is proportional to the profits made by that port and is in no way linked to the (uncompensated) cost of the non-economic activities imposed on it by the State.
Međutim, u predmetnom slučaju djelatnosti koje Komisija smatra gospodarskima razlikuju se od tih (drugih) djelatnosti navedenih u prethodnoj rečenici.
The Commission cannot therefore take account of this in its assessment of the scheme.
Nadalje, Komisija napominje da iako nacionalna nadležna tijela imaju „široko diskrecijsko pravo […] u pružanju, naručivanju i organiziranju usluga od općeg gospodarskog interesa u najvećoj mogućoj mjeri povezanih s potrebama korisnika” [37], to ne isključuje činjenicu da su te djelatnosti gospodarske naravi.
The fact, assuming it to have been established [41], that the ports do not have a profit motive and systematically reinvest their profits: it is settled case-law that the absence of profit motive on the part of the person providing a service does not imply that this service is of a non-economic nature [42].
Iz ustaljene sudske prakse proizlazi da sam pojam „gospodarske djelatnosti” proizlazi iz činjeničnih elemenata, među ostalim postojanja tržišta za predmetne usluge [38] i ne ovisi o nacionalnom izboru ili ocjenama.
Likewise, the systematic reinvestment of the profits in the activity is not decisive in differentiating an economic activity from a non-economic activity.
Prema tome, Komisija osnovano tvrdi da su određene djelatnosti luka gospodarske naravi, iako nacionalna nadležna tijela smatraju da su te usluge negospodarske usluge od općeg interesa.
Any undertaking for that matter has the choice between distribution and reinvestment of all or part of the profits it has made.5.1.1.2.
Konačno, razmatranja u nastavku sama po sebi ne mogu dovesti u pitanje gospodarsku ili negospodarsku narav djelatnosti koje se obavljaju:
Concerning the tariffs applied
Činjenica da luke obavljaju zadaće od općeg interesa, koje su im nametnula ili dodijelila tijela javne vlasti: to je slučaj sa svim uslugama od općeg gospodarskog interesa (u daljnjem tekstu: usluge od općeg gospodarskog interesa), koje su ipak gospodarske djelatnosti.
Also irrelevant with regard to the classification of ports as ‘undertakings’ is the argument put forward by the Belgian authorities and certain interested parties that the tariffs of the services provided by the port authorities are public, non-discriminatory and fixed in advance unilaterally by the port authorities and are not determined directly by the interaction of supply and demand [43].
Općenitije, „činjenica da se određena usluga pruža interno nije važna za gospodarsku prirodu djelatnosti” [39].
The Commission notes first that the characteristics of the tariffs applied by the ports (publicity, non-discrimination, etc.) are similar to those of tariffs applied in the context of SGEIs [44], which are economic activities and are subject to the law on State aid.
Međutim, opći interes može se uzeti u obzir kako bi se ocijenila, ako je to primjenjivo, spojivost potpore koju je država dodijelila poduzetniku u svrhu održavanja njegove gospodarske djelatnosti.Činjenica da lučke uprave raspolažu posebnim ovlastima za obavljanje tih zadaća [40]: takve posebne ovlasti ne isključuju mogućnost da lučke uprave obavljaju gospodarsku djelatnost nudeći robu ili usluge na tržištu.
Likewise, prices are also public, non-discriminatory and set unilaterally in advance by the provider for the vast majority of economic activities.
Ako je to primjenjivo, te ovlasti mogu biti instrument za intervenciju na navedenom tržištu.Činjenica da lučke uprave sve više moraju same financirati negospodarske djelatnosti obuhvaćene ovlastima regija, odnosno djelatnosti koje nisu povezane s upravljanjem lukama: takva značajka ne umanjuje gospodarsku narav djelatnosti luka koje se sastoje u pružanju robe ili usluga na tržištu.
Although the proportion of expenditure associated with a given activity that is covered by revenue collected from users and, conversely, the proportion that is covered by tax (the taxpayer) may sometimes point to the existence of a market and an economic activity, the way in which the prices are set is not as such decisive from this point of view.
Nepostojanje naknade ili nedovoljna naknada države za troškove povezane s negospodarskim djelatnostima koje snose luke u većoj mjeri potvrđuje tvrdnju da luke osim određenih negospodarskih djelatnosti imaju i gospodarske djelatnosti nego što je negira.
Incidentally, it is not contested that the prices paid by users and customers of the ports (general and particular port charges, concession fees) cover at least the bulk of the costs incurred by the port authorities when they offer their services on the market [45].
Porezna prednost koju određena luka ima na temelju predmetnog sustava razmjerna je dobiti koju je ta luka ostvarila i nimalo nije povezana s troškovima (nenadoknađenim) negospodarskih djelatnosti koje joj može naplatiti država.
Furthermore, although the Walloon Region and the Walloon ports point out that the fees for the use of the infrastructure do not cover the reconstitution of the capital invested, they do not provide any factual evidence in support of their argument.
Prema tome, Komisija to ne može uzeti u obzir pri ocjenjivanju sustava.
Incidentally, this argument is presented as the demonstration of the general interest nature of the port activity, which, as such, is not relevant to determine the economic or non-economic nature of the port activities.
Pod pretpostavkom da postoji, činjenica [41] da luke obavljaju neprofitnu djelatnost te da sustavno reinvestiraju svoju dobit: iz ustaljene sudske prakse proizlazi da nepostojanje svrhe ostvarivanja dobiti prema mišljenju pružatelja usluge ne podrazumijeva da je ta usluga negospodarske naravi [42].
The Commission also notes that, by definition, the costs of SGEIs (which are economic activities) are not in general covered in full by the revenue collected from users, so the existence of a funding shortfall does not necessarily preclude the existence of an economic activity within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU.
Jednako tako, sustavno reinvestiranje dobiti u djelatnost nije presudno za razlikovanje gospodarske od negospodarske djelatnosti.
Moreover, the mere fact that prices are set by the port authorities does not mean that demand is not taken into account.
Nadalje, svi poduzetnici imaju izbor između raspodjele ili ponovnog ulaganja čitave dobiti ili dijela dobiti koju su ostvarili.5.1.1.2.
On the contrary, the port authorities do take the market conditions into consideration (supply and demand, especially the prices charged by competitors and the demand behaviour of users and customers) when they determine their tariffs and especially the port charges [46].
Cijene koje se naplaćuju
As regards the concession fees, the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge point out that the tariffs are set according to objective parameters relating to the nature of the land or the activity concerned and reflect the ‘intrinsic value’ and the ‘added value’ generated.
Osim toga, za određivanje statusa „poduzetnika” nevažan je argument koji su iznijela belgijska nadležna tijela i određene zainteresirane strane, a prema kojem su cijene usluga koje pružaju lučke uprave javne i nediskriminirajuće, unaprijed ih jednostrano utvrđuju lučke uprave te se ne utvrđuju izravno na temelju odnosa ponude i potražnje [43].
Consequently, the tariffs are linked to the characteristics of the service provided by the ports and to the characteristics of the undertakings or activities that the port is seeking to attract.
Kao prvo, Komisija primjećuje da su značajke cijena koje primjenjuju luke (činjenica da su javne, nediskriminirajuće itd.) slične značajkama cijena koje se primjenjuju u okviru usluga od općeg gospodarskog interesa [44], koje su gospodarske djelatnosti i podliježu pravu o državnim potporama.
On this basis, the tariffs obviously constitute an important instrument of the commercial policy implemented by the port to encourage shipowners and shippers to use the port infrastructure and undertakings to establish themselves there to develop their production or service activities.
Jednako tako, cijene su javne i nediskriminirajuće i u većini gospodarskih djelatnosti unaprijed ih jednostrano utvrđuje pružatelj usluga.
Consequently, making available both port infrastructure and land against payment of remuneration in fact constitute services offered on a market and therefore economic activities.
Iako udio rashoda povezanih s određenom djelatnošću i pokrivenih prihodima naplaćenima od korisnika i, obrnuto, udio rashoda pokrivenih porezom (porezni obveznik) ponekad može biti pokazatelj postojanja tržišta i gospodarske djelatnosti, način utvrđivanja cijena kao takav nije odrednica u tom pogledu.
Concerning the making available of the port infrastructure to shipowners against remuneration and the supply of specific services by the port authorities to shipowners against remuneration
Nadalje, ne osporava se da cijene koje plaćaju korisnici i klijenti luka (opće i posebne lučke pristojbe, naknade za koncesiju) pokrivaju barem većinu troškova koji nastaju za lučke uprave kad nude svoje usluge na tržištu [45].
As regards the services offered by the ports in exchange for the payment of port charges (access to the port infrastructure in general and any specific services), the Commission points out that the judgment of the Belgian Constitutional Court of 19 November 2015 (No 162/2015) recognising that the port charges constitute ‘pure remuneration’, by third parties, for the intervention of the port authorities, as well as the references made in the Flemish Port Decree of 2 March 1999 establishing that the port charges must be set in ‘reasonable proportion’ to the value of the consideration received, confirm that the ports offer services on a market against remuneration.
Nadalje, iako Valonska regija i valonske luke navode da naknade za upotrebu infrastrukture ne pokrivaju povrat uloženog kapitala, ne iznose nikakav činjenični element u potporu svojem argumentu.