24.11.2012

Official Journal of the European Union

C 366/8

(Joined Cases C-113/10, C-147/10 and C-234/10)

(Common agricultural policy - Common organisation of the markets - Producers of sugar and of isoglucose - Calculation of production levies - Validity of a method of calculation taking into account fictitious refund amounts for those quantities of sugar exported without refund - Retroactive effect of the legislation - Exchange rate - Award of interest)

2012/C 366/13

Language of the case: German, English, French

Referring court

Finanzgericht Düsseldorf, the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division), and the Tribunal de grande instance de Nanterre

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Zuckerfabrik Jülich AG (C-113/10), British Sugar plc (C-147/10), Tereos — Union de coopératives agricoles à capital variable (C-234/10)

Defendants: Hauptzollamt Aachen (C-113/10), Rural Payments Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (C-147/10), Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects, Receveur principal des douanes et droits indirects de Gennevilliers (C-234/10)

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Finanzgericht Dusseldorf — Validity of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1193/2009 of 3 November 2009 correcting Regulations (EC) No 1762/2003, (EC) No 1775/2004, (EC) No 1686/2005, (EC) No 164/2007 and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006 (OJ 2009 L 321, p. 1) in the light of the principles of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations — Retroactivity of that regulation — Method for calculating the production levies

Reference for a preliminary ruling — High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) — Validity of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1193/2009 of 3 November 2009 correcting Regulations (EC) No 1762/2003, No (EC) 1175/2004, (EC) No 1686/2005, (EC) No 164/2007 and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 (OJ 2009 L 321, p. 1) — Repayment of amounts levied on the basis of invalid Community regulations — Determination of the applicable exchange rate

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunal de grande instance de Nanterre — Validity, having regard to Article 15 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (OJ 2001 L 178, p. 1), of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1193/2009 of 3 November 2009 correcting Regulations (EC) No 1762/2003, (EC) No 1775/2004, (EC) No 1686/2005, (EC) No 164/2007 and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006 (OJ 2009 L 321, p. 1) — Fixing of production levies in the sugar sector — Determination of average loss

Operative part of the judgment

1.Commission Regulation (EC) No 1193/2009 of 3 November 2009 correcting Regulations (EC) No 1762/2003, (EC) No 1775/2004, (EC) No 1686/2005, (EC) No 164/2007 and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006 is invalid, with the exception of Article 3 thereof, which has already been annulled as a result of the annulment, by the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 29 September 2011 in Case T-4/06 Poland v Commission, of Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1686/2005 of 14 October 2005 setting the production levies and the coefficient for the additional levy in the sugar sector for the 2004/05 marketing year.

2.In the absence of provisions of European Union law on the matter, it is for the domestic legal system of the Member State concerned to determine the applicable exchange rate for calculating the compensation payable in respect of overpayments of production levies in the sugar sector.

3.Under European Union law, individuals entitled to reimbursement of sums paid unduly in respect of production levies in the sugar sector determined on the basis of an invalid regulation are also entitled to payment of the interest on such sums. A national court cannot use its discretion to refuse payment of interest on the sums levied by a Member State on the basis of an invalid regulation on the ground that that Member State cannot reclaim the corresponding interest on the European Union’s own resources.

(1)

OJ C 134, 25.5.2010; OJ C 148, 5.6.2010; OJ C 221, 14.8.2010.