Europa 1. Measures adopted by the institutions – regulations – application by analogy – conditions (commission regulations Nos 2029/82 and 2655/82) 2. Agriculture – common organization of the markets – cereals – import certificates – opportunity offered by regulation no 2655/82 to importers of products falling within subheading 07.06 a of the common customs tariff originating in non-member countries other than Thailand to have licences cancelled – extension to importation of the same products originating in Thailand covered by regulation no 2029/82 – identical conditions concerning time-limits and other procedural requirements (commission regulations Nos 2029/82 and 2655/82, art. 3 (6))
- The scope of a regulation is normally defined by its own terms and it may not in principle be extended to situations other than those which it envisaged. The position may be different in certain exceptional cases. Thus, traders are entitled to rely on an application by analogy of a regulation which would not normally be applicable to them if they can show that the rules applicable to their case, on the one hand, are very similar to those which it is sought to have applied by analogy and, on the other hand, contain an omission which is incompatible with a general principle of community law and which can be remedied by application by analogy of those other rules.
- Article 3 (6) of commission regulation no 2655/82, laying down rules for implementing the import arrangements for 1982 for products falling within subheading 07.06 a of the common customs tariff originating in third countries other than Thailand must be interpreted as applying to the case of importers of products falling within the said tariff subheading and originating in Thailand as provided for by commission regulation no 2029/82. If that were not so, importers of the said products originating in Thailand, who, until the adoption of regulation no 2029/82, were subject to legal rules corresponding very closely to those governing importers of the same products originating in other non-member countries and who were therefore likely to benefit, on the same basis as the latter, from measures intended to protect legitimate expectation, would be placed in a situation which was contrary to the principle in community law of equal treatment of traders in comparable situations. Article 3 (6) of regulation no 2655/82 is to be applied to the importation of products falling within subheading 07.06 a of the common customs tariff and originating in Thailand subject to the time-limits and other procedural requirements therein laid down.
Citations:
C-165/84
European, Customs and Excise
Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.133920
