C-74/79
ECLI:EU:C:1980:41
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J U D G M E N T O F T H E C O U R T (FIRST C H A M B E R ) O F 13 F E B R U A R Y 1980 l
Office de Commercialisation et d'Exportation (O.C.E.) v S.A. Méditerranéenne et Atlantique des Vins, Samavins (preliminary ruling requested by the Cour d'Appel, Paris)
" M o n e t a r y compensatory a m o u n t s — entitlement t o benefit"
Case 74/79
Agriculture — Monetary compensatory amounts — Community rules — Sphere of application — Relationship between trader and the party with whom he contracts — Exclusion (Regulation No 974/71 of the Council, as amended by Regulation No 509/73)
The effect of the provisions of Regu- grants the monetary compensatory lation N o 974/71, as amended by Regu- amount. lation N o 509/73 and of Community rules in the agri-monetary sector is that the trader who carries out the customs Hence the question whether the gain formalities relating to the import or derived from a monetary compensatory export receives or pays, as the case may amount must be repaid by the trader be, the monetary compensatory amount. who carries out the customs formalities These provisions are concerned only to the party with whom he contracts with the relationship between that trader comes within the sphere of contractual and the public authority which levies or relations and not of Community law.
In Case 7 4 / 7 9
R E F E R E N C E t o the C o u r t u n d e r Article 177 of t h e E E C T r e a t y b y t h e C o u r d'Appel [ C o u r t of Appeal], Paris, for a preliminary ruling in t h e action p e n d i n g before that court between
O F F I C E DE COMMERCIALISATION ET D ' E X P O R T A T I O N ( O . C E . ) , C a s a b l a n c a ,
and
S.A. M É D I T E R R A N É E N N E ET A T L A N T I Q U E DES V I N S , SAMAVINS, S a i n t - C l o u d ,
1 — Language of the Case: French.
JUDGMENT OF 13. 2. 1980 — CASE 74/79
on the interpretation of the provisions of Regulation N o 974/71 of the Council of 12 May 1971 on certain measures of conjunctural policy to be taken in agriculture following the temporary widening of the margins of fluc- tuation for the currencies of certain Member States (Official Journal, English Special Edition 1971 (I), p. 257), of Regulation No 648/73 of the Commission of 1 March 1973 laying down detailed rules for the application of monetary compensatory amounts (Official Journal L 64, p. 1) and of Regulation No 649/73 of the Commission of 1 March 1973 fixing the monetary compensatory amounts (Official Journal L 64, p. 7),
T H E C O U R T (First Chamber)
composed of: A. O'Keeffe, President of Chamber, G. Bosco and T. Koopmans, Judges,
Advocate General: H. Mayras Registrar: A. Van Houtte
gives the following
JUDGMENT
Facts and Issues
The judgment making the reference and Moroccan Office de Commercialisation the written observations submitted in et d'Exportation [Marketing and Export accordance with Article 20 of the Office], hereinafter referred to as "the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of O.C.E.", 200 000 hectolitres of "EEC Justice of the EEC may be summarized export category" wine, the deliveries to as follows: be spread over a period up to the end of June 1975. The "c.i.f. on board ship" prices, on the basis of which the buyer was to settle the accounts, were fixed at I — Facts and written procedure FF 80 538 per hectolitre of 11° wine and FF 91 268 per hectolitre of 12° wine, the Under a contract dated 18 June 1974 prices being valid until 15 December Samavins, a company incorporated under 1974 and thereafter having to be indexed French law, purchased from the "according to the new reference price".
O.C.E. v SAMAVINS
The O.C.E. claimed payment from regulations implied that the Samavins of the sum of FF 547 607-29, compensatory amounts — which cannot being the equivalent of the monetary take the form of aid to imports — were compensatory amounts which the latter ultimately due to it, otherwise the company had received on its imports of reference price would not be observed. wine into France between 14 March and 11 December 1974. By a judgment dated Samavins for its part argued that under 7 June 1977 the Tribunal de Commerce the terms of the agreements it was to [Commercial Court], Paris, dismissed the bear the burden of the customs duties O.C.E.'s claims. From this judgment the and thus to benefit from any deductions; O.C.E. appealed to the Cour d'Appel, that it had paid in full the price stipu- Paris,, before which a cross appeal was lated in the contract; that "as a non- lodged by Samavins who claimed the member country Morocco cannot profit sum of FF 15 000 as damages for "abuse from compensatory amounts which are of process" and a further sum of only for the benefit of the Member FF 6 000 under Article 700 of the new States of the E E C " and that since the Code of Civil Procedure (which provides wine had been resold in French customs that "whenever it appears inequitable territory Samavins was to retain the that one party should have to bear the benefit of the compensatory amounts. fees and other expenses not included in judicial costs the court may order the The decision making the reference was other party to pay to that party such sum received at the Court Registry on 3 May as the court may determine."). 1979.
The Commission of the European By a judgment given on 6 April 1979 the Communities represented by Hendrik Cour d'Appel, Paris, decided to stay the Bronkhorst, a member of its Legal De- proceedings until the Court of Justice partment, acting as Agent, assisted by should have given a preliminary ruling Jacques Delmoly, a member of the Legal pursuant to Article 177 of the EEC Department, submitted written obser- Treaty on the following question : vations in accordance with Article 20 of the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EEC. "Where wine from Morocco is imported by a French company does Community After hearing the report of the Judge- legislation — in particular the provisions Rapporteur and the views of the Advo- of Regulation No 974/71 of the Council cate General the Court decided to open and Regulations Nos 648/73 and 649/73 the oral procedure without any of the Commission of the European preparatory inquiry and, by order dated Communities — require the compensa- 19 September 1979, to assign the case to tory amounts which were granted to the the First Chamber in accordance with French importer to be paid over by it to Article 95 of the Rules of Procedure. the Moroccan exporter?"
Before the Cour de Paris the O.C.E. II — O b s e r v a t i o n s submitted to maintained that the price of the goods the C o u r t was so calculated that — including the expenses and customs duties — the importation should be carried out at the The Commission considers that the rules reference price and that both the con- in the agri-monetary sector do not tractual provisions and the Community specify who ultimately is to benefit from,
JUDGMENT OF 13. 2. 1980 — CASE 74/79
or bear the burden of, compensatory rise to the litigation the incidence of amounts granted or paid on trade with monetary compensatory amounts on the non-member countries. observance of the reference prices for wines to be imported was regulated as follows : The effect of the provisions of Regu- lation No 974/71 and of those relating The reference price was considered to to the grant of export refunds and the have been observed at the time of impor- charging of customs duties or levies is tation from non-member countries if the that the trader who carries out the offer price at the frontier reduced by a customs formalities relating to the import certain amount in the case of an import (or export) receives or pays, as the case into a Member State having a may be, the compensatory amount. depreciated currency and increased by the customs duty was now lower than the said reference price (Regulation No However, these provisions are only 1463/73 of the Commission); concerned with the relationship between Regulation No 2823/71 of the Council the trader and the Administration; any reduced the duties applicable to imports further questions concern the field of the of wine originating in and coming from contractual relations of the trader. No Morocco to 6 0 % of the duties under the Community regulation interferes with Common Customs Tariff; the freedom of the parties in regard to the manner in which they may arrange to If the offer price was at a lower level distribute the benefit or the burden of than that of the reference price the full the monetary compensatory amount. duty under the Common Customs Tariff was applied. It occurs to the Commission that in the In any event the Commission has national proceedings in question the difficulty in seeing how an irregularity in French importer may have overlooked regard to the reference price, even other provisions relating to the wine assuming that such can be proved, which regulations and to the customs on the present contents of the file would arrangements between the Community not be the case, could provide a basis for and Morocco. the O.C.E.'s claim to have paid to it the compensatory amounts granted to the French purchaser.
Indeed Regulation No 816/70 of the Council of 28 April 1970 laying down additional provisions for the common organization of the market in wine (Of- Ill — Oral procedure ficial Journal, English Special Edition 1970 (I), p. 234) provides in Article 9 for The Commission, represented by Jacques the fixing, annually, before 16 Delmoly, a member of its Legal December, of a reference price fixed on Department, acting as Agent, presented the basis of the guide prices for the types oral argument at the sitting on 13 of wine most representative of December 1979. Community production, plus the costs incurred by bringing Community wines The Advocate General delivered his to the same marketing stage as imported opinion at the sitting on 31 January wines. At the time of the events giving 1980.
O.C.E. v SAMAVINS
Decision
1 By judgment of 6 April 1979, which was received at the Court on 3 May 1979, the Cour d'Appel, Paris, submitted for a preliminary ruling under Article 177 of the EEC Treaty a question on the interpretation of the provisions of Regulation N o 974/71 of the Council of 12 May 1971 on certain measures of conjunctural policy to be taken in agriculture following the temporary widening of the margins of fluctuation for the currencies of certain Member States (Official Journal, English Special Edition 1971 (I), p. 257), of Regulation N o 648/73 of the Commission of 1 March 1973 laying down detailed rules for the application of monetary compensatory amounts (Official Journal L 64, p. 1) and of Regulation N o 649/73 of the Commission of 1 March 1973 fixing the monetary compensatory amounts (Official Journal L 64, p. 7).
2 That question has been raised in the context of a dispute having its source in a contract for the sale of 200 000 hectolitres of "EEC export category" wine concluded on 18 June 1974 between the Moroccan Office de Commerciali- sation et d'Exportation (O.C.E.) and a French company, Samavins. The . O.C.E. claimed payment from Samavins of the sum of FF 547 607.29, being the equivalent of the monetary compensatory amounts which the latter company had been granted on its imports of wine into France in terms of Regulations Nos 648/73 and 649/73 of the Commission.
3 By judgment of 7 June 1977 the Tribunal de Commerce, Paris, dismissed the O.C.E.'s claims. From that judgment the O.C.E. appealed to the Cour d'Appel, Paris.
4 The judgment making the reference is concerned with the question whether, where wine from Morocco is imported by a French company, Community legislation — in particular the provisions of Regulation No 974/71 of the Council and Regulations Nos 648/73 and 649/73 of the Commission — requires the compensatory amounts which were granted to the French importer to be paid over by it to the Moroccan exporter.
5 The effect of the provisions of Regulation N o 974/71, as amended by Regu- lation N o 509/73 of the Council of 22 February 1973 (Official Journal L 50, p. 1), and of Community rules in the agri-monetary sector is that the trader who carries out the customs formalities relating to the import or export receives or pays, as the case may be, the monetary compensatory amount. These provisions are concerned only with the relationship between that
JUDGMENT OF 13. 2. 1980 — CASE 74/79
trader and the public authority which levies or grants the monetary compensatory amount.
6 Any further questions going beyond those provisions concern the field of contractual relations which are governed by national law.
7 The answer to the question submitted should therefore be that the issue of whether the gain derived from a monetary compensatory amount must be repaid by the trader who carries out the customs formalities to the party with whom he contracts comes within the sphere of contractual relations and not of Community law.
Costs s The costs incurred by the Commission of the European Communities, which has submitted observations to the Court, are not recoverable. As these proceedings are, in so far as the parties to the main action are concerned, in the nature of a step in the action pending before the national court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court.
On those grounds,
T H E C O U R T (First Chamber),
in answer to the question submitted to it by the Cour d'Appel, Paris, by judgment of 6 April 1979, hereby rules:
The question whether the gain derived from a monetary compensatory amount must be repaid by the trader who carries out the customs formalities to the party with whom he contracts comes within the sphere of contractual relations and not of Community law.
O'Keeffe Bosco Koopmans
Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 13 February 1980.
A. Van Houtte A. O'Keeffe Registrar President of the First Chamber