SARL Denkavit Loire v Etat Francais, administration des douanes: ECJ 31 May 1979

ECJ Any pecuniary charge, whatever its designation and mode of application, which is imposed unilaterally on goods by reason of the fact that they cross a frontier and which is not a customs duty in the strict sense, constitutes a charge having an equivalent effect within the meaning of articles 9, 12, 13 and 16 of the treaty. Such a charge however escapes that classification if it constitutes the consideration for a benefit provided in fact for the importer or exporter representing an amount proportionate to the said benefit. It also escapes that classification if it relates to a general system of internal dues supplied systematically and in accordance with the same criteria to domestic products and imported and exported products alike, in which case it does not come within the scope of articles 9, 12, 13 and 16 but within that of article 95 of the treaty.
In order to relate to a general system of internal dues and thus not come within the application of the provisions prohibiting charges having an effect equivalent to customs duties, the charge to which an imported product is subject must impose the same duty on national products and identical imported products at the same marketing stage and the chargeable event giving rise to the duty must also be identical in the case of both products. It is therefore not sufficient that the objective of the charge imposed on imported products is to compensate for a charge imposed on similar domestic products – or which has been imposed on those products or a product from which they are derived – at a production or marketing stage prior to that at which the imported products are taxed.
A charge which is imposed on meat, whether or not prepared, when it is imported, and in particular on consignments of lard, even though no charge is imposed on similar domestic products, or a charge is imposed on them according to different criteria, in particular by reason of a different chargeable event giving rise to the duty, constitutes a charge having an effect equivalent to a customs duty within the meaning of articles 9, 12 and 13 of the treaty.

Citations:

C-132/78, R-132/78, [1979] EUECJ R-132/78

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

European

Cited by:

CitedBloomsbury International Ltd v Sea Fish Industry Authority and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs SC 15-Jun-2011
The 1995 Regulations imposed a levy on fish both caught and first landed in the UK and also on imported fish products. The claimants, importers challenged the validity of the latter charges, saying that they went beyond the power given by the 1981 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

European

Updated: 21 May 2022; Ref: scu.132717