Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions)

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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/1970/R3170.html
Cite as: [1970] EUECJ R-31/70

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IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE - The source of this judgment is the web site of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The information in this database has been provided free of charge and is subject to a Court of Justice of the European Communities disclaimer and a copyright notice. This electronic version is not authentic and is subject to amendment.

61970J0031
Judgment of the Court of 15 December 1970.
Deutsche Getreide- und Futtermittel-Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Altona.
Reference for a preliminary ruling: Bundesfinanzhof - Germany.
Case 31-70.
European Court reports 1970 Page 01055
Danish special edition 1970 Page 00207
Greek special edition 1969-1971 Page 00553
Portuguese special edition 1969-1970 Page 00597
Spanish special edition 1970 Page 00221

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1 . AGRICULTURE - COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY - COMMON ORGANIZATION OF THE MARKETS - LEVY - CONCEPT - STANDARD CHARGE
2 . AGRICULTURE - COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY - COMMON ORGANIZATION OF THE MARKETS - LEVY - APPLICATION TO DAMAGED PRODUCTS

1 . LEVIES ARE DERIVED FROM THE TREATY AND NOT FROM NATIONAL LAW AND ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY APPLICABLE IN ALL THE MEMBER STATES; THEY ACT AS REGULATORS OF THE MARKET WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A COMMON ORGANIZATION AND ARE CALCULATED ON THE BASIS OF WEIGHTED VALUES AND HAVING REGARD TO STANDARD QUALITIES; THEY ARE THEREFORE STANDARD CHARGES WHICH DO NOT TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRODUCTS IMPORTED . PRODUCTS OF LOWER QUALITY THAN THE STANDARD QUALITY ARE THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THE GENERAL LEVY IN THE SAME WAY AS PRODUCTS OF HIGHER QUALITY .
2 . PRODUCTS WHICH HAVE SUFFERED DAMAGE BEFORE BEING IMPORTED AND WHICH HAVE THEREFORE LOST SOME VALUE MAY IN SPITE OF THIS LOSS IN VALUE AFFECT THE AGRICULTURAL MARKET IN THE SAME WAY AS OTHER PRODUCTS WHICH WERE OF A LOWER QUALITY THAN THE STANDARD QUALITY FROM THE START AND WHICH ARE HOWEVER SUBJECT TO THE GENERAL LEVY . THE REASONS WHY THE CONDITION OF IMPAIRED GOODS IS BELOW THE STANDARD QUALITY DO NOT AFFECT THE GROUNDS WHICH JUSTIFY THE APPLICATION OF THE GENERAL LEVY TO THEM .

IN CASE 31/70
REFERENCE TO THE COURT UNDER ARTICLE 177 OF THE EEC TREATY BY THE BUNDESFINANZHOF FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING IN THE ACTION PENDING BEFORE THAT COURT BETWEEN
DEUTSCHE GETREIDE - UND FUTTERMITTEL HANDELSGESELLSCHAFT MBH, HAMBURG
AND
HAUPTZOLLAMT HAMBURG-ALTONA

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF REGULATION NO 19 OF THE EEC COUNCIL OF 4 APRIL 1962 ( OJ 1962 NO 30 ),

1 BY AN ORDER OF 4 JUNE 1970, RECEIVED AT THE COURT ON 1 JULY 1970, THE BUNDESFINANZHOF OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY HAS REFERRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 177 OF THE EEC TREATY, SEVERAL QUESTIONS REGARDING THE INTERPRETATION AND VALIDITY OF REGULATION NO 19 OF THE EEC COUNCIL OF 4 APRIL 1962 ( OJ 1962, NO 30 ).
THE FIRST TWO QUESTIONS
2 IN THE FIRST QUESTION THE COURT IS ASKED TO RULE WHETHER REGULATION NO 19/62 MUST BE INTERPRETED AS MEANING THAT THE SAME LEVY MUST BE IMPOSED ON MAIZE WHICH HAS BEEN DAMAGED IN TRANSIT BY WATER BEFORE BEING IMPORTED AND THUS LOST SOME VALUE AS ON UNDAMAGED MAIZE . IF THIS QUESTION IS ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, THE COURT IS ASKED TO RULE WHETHER THE REGULATION IS VALID IN THIS RESPECT .
3 SINCE THESE TWO QUESTIONS ARE CLOSELY CONNECTED, THEY MUST BE EXAMINED TOGETHER .
4 NEITHER REGULATION NO 19 NOR THE IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS ISSUED THEREUNDER CONTAIN PROVISIONS WHEREBY THE RATE OF THE LEVY APPLICABLE TO A SPECIFIED CATEGORY OF CEREALS CAN BE REDUCED BECAUSE OF DAMAGE AND LOSS OF VALUE SUFFERED BY THESE CEREALS BEFORE BEING IMPORTED . IN VIEW OF THE ABSENCE OF SUCH PROVISIONS THIS PROBLEM MUST BE SOLVED BY REFERENCE TO THE SYSTEM OF THE REGULATION, HAVING REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE COMMON ORGANIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETS AND THE AIMS ATTRIBUTED TO IT BY THE TREATY .
5 REGULATION NO 19 AND THE OTHER PROVISIONS MADE TO ESTABLISH A COMMON ORGANIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETS HAVE INTRODUCED A SYSTEM OF REGULATED PRICES IN THIS SECTOR IN ORDER TO ATTAIN THE OBJECTIVES LAID DOWN IN ARTICLES 39 AND 40 OF THE TREATY .
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THIS SYSTEM REGULATION NO 19 HAS IMPOSED LEVIES ON IMPORTS FROM THIRD COUNTRIES CORRESPONDING TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRICES PREVAILING ON THE WORLD MARKET AND THE PRICES PREVAILING IN THE IMPORTING MEMBER STATE .
THESE LEVIES ARE DERIVED FROM THE TREATY AND NOT FROM NATIONAL LAW, ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY APPLICABLE IN ALL THE MEMBER STATES AND NOT WITHIN ONLY ONE OF THEM AND THEY ACT AS REGULATORS OF THE MARKET NOT WITHIN THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK BUT WITHIN THAT OF A COMMON ORGANIZATION; THEY ARE DETERMINED BY REFERENCE TO A PRICE LEVEL FIXED ACCORDING TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMON MARKET AND TO FLUCTUATING RATES WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF VARIATION WITH CHANGES IN THE ECONOMIC SITUATION .
IN PARTICULAR, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 10 ( 2 ) OF REGULATION NO 19 THE AMOUNT OF THE LEVY ON EACH PRODUCT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CIF PRICE DETERMINED ON THE BASIS OF THE MOST FAVOURABLE PRICES AT WHICH THE GOODS CAN BE BOUGHT ON THE WORLD MARKET AND THE THRESHOLD PRICE IN THE IMPORTING MEMBER STATE .
THE LATTER PRICE IS FIXED ANNUALLY BY THE MEMBER STATES FOR A STANDARD QUALITY FOR THE CATEGORY OF CEREALS IN QUESTION, WHILST THE CIF PRICE IS FIXED ON THE BASIS OF INTERNATIONAL PRICES ADJUSTED BY REFERENCE TO DIFFERENCES IN QUALITY WHICH MAY EXIST BY COMPARISON WITH THE STANDARD QUALITY FOR WHICH THE THRESHOLD PRICE IS FIXED .
6 THE RESULT OF THE SYSTEM WHICH HAS THUS BEEN ESTABLISHED IS THAT THE LEVIES, WHICH HAVE BEEN CALCULATED ON THE BASIS OF WEIGHTED VALUES AND HAVING REGARD TO STANDARD QUALITIES, ARE STANDARD CHARGES WHICH DO NOT TAKE ACCOUNT OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRODUCTS IMPORTED . PRODUCTS OF A QUALITY LOWER THAN THE STANDARD QUALITY ARE THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THIS LEVY IN THE SAME WAY AS PRODUCTS OF A HIGHER QUALITY .
7 THE REASONS WHY THE CONDITION OF GOODS IS BELOW THE STANDARD QUALITY DO NOT AFFECT THE GROUNDS WHICH JUSTIFY THE APPLICATION OF THE GENERAL LEVY TO THEM .
PRODUCTS WHICH HAVE SUFFERED DAMAGE BEFORE BEING IMPORTED AND WHICH HAVE THEREFORE LOST SOME VALUE MAY IN SPITE OF THIS LOSS IN VALUE AFFECT THE AGRICULTURAL MARKET IN THE SAME WAY AS OTHER PRODUCTS WHICH WERE OF A LOWER QUALITY THAN THE STANDARD QUALITY FROM THE START AND WHICH HOWEVER ARE SUBJECT TO THE GENERAL LEVY .
8 THE APPLICATION OF THE SAME GENERAL LEVY TO PRODUCTS WHETHER THEY ARE DAMAGED OR NOT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OBJECTIVES PURSUED BY THE PRICE SYSTEM INTRODUCED BY REGULATION NO 19 .
EVEN IF THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT AN IMPORTER OF PRODUCTS WHICH HAVE BEEN DAMAGED MAY BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE, BE SUBJECT TO A CHARGE HIGHER THAN THAT WHICH HE WOULD NORMALLY HAVE TO PAY, COMPENSATION FOR THE LOSS THEREBY INCURRED CANNOT BE SOUGHT BY ALTERING THE STANDARD CHARGE APPLICABLE AS THIS WOULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED EITHER BY REFERENCE TO THE PURPOSES OF THE LEVY OR BY REFERENCE TO THE METHOD WHEREBY IT IS CALCULATED .
9 FINALLY, THE STANDARD NATURE OF THE SYSTEM OF LEVIES DESCRIBED ABOVE APPEARS TO BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TREATY .
10/11 THE FIRST TWO QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED TO THE EFFECT THAT REGULATION NO 19 WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE PROGRESSIVE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMON ORGANIZATION OF THE MARKETS IN THE CEREALS SECTOR MUST BE INTERPRETED AS MEANING THAT THE SAME LEVY MUST BE IMPOSED ON IMPORTED MAIZE WHICH HAS BEEN DAMAGED IN TRANSIT AND HAS THEREFORE LOST SOME VALUE AS ON MAIZE WHICH HAS NOT BEEN DAMAGED .
12 THE EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED HAS NOT REVEALED ANY FACTORS WHICH MIGHT AFFECT THE VALIDITY OF REGULATION NO 19 IN THIS RESPECT .
THE THIRD QUESTION
13 THIS QUESTION WAS ONLY POSED BY THE BUNDESFINANZHOF IN CASE EITHER ONE OR OTHER OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTIONS WAS ANSWERED IN THE NEGATIVE . SINCE THESE HAVE BEEN ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, THE THIRD QUESTION BECOMES SUPERFLUOUS .

14 THE COSTS INCURRED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, WHICH SUBMITTED THEIR OBSERVATIONS TO THE COURT, ARE NOT RECOVERABLE .
15 AS REGARDS THE PARTIES TO THE ACTION, THESE PROCEEDINGS ARE A STEP IN THE ACTION PENDING BEFORE THE BUNDESFINANZHOF OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND COSTS ARE THEREFORE A MATTER FOR THAT COURT .

THE COURT
IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS REFERRED TO IT BY THE BUNDESFINANZHOF OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY BY AN ORDER MADE BY THAT COURT ON 4 JUNE 1970, HEREBY RULES :
1 . REGULATION NO 19/62 WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMON ORGANIZATION OF MARKETS IN THE CEREALS SECTOR MUST BE INTERPRETED AS MEANING THAT THE SAME LEVY MUST BE IMPOSED ON IMPORTED MAIZE WHICH HAS BEEN DAMAGED IN TRANSIT AND THEREFORE LOST SOME VALUE AS ON MAIZE WHICH HAS NOT BEEN DAMAGED .
2 . THE EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN POSED HAS NOT REVEALED ANY FACTORS WHICH MIGHT AFFECT THE VALIDITY OF REGULATION NO 19/62 IN THIS RESPECT .