7.9.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 260/14

(Case C-211/12) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Agriculture - System of import licences - Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 - Article 35(4)(c) - Securities lodged at the time of application for the issue of the licences - Import licence - Late submission of proof of its use - Penalty - Calculation of the amount forfeited - Regulation (EC) No 958/2003 - Tariff quotas)

2013/C 260/24

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: Martini SpA

Respondent: Ministero delle Attività Produttive

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Corte di Appello di Roma — Interpretation of Article 35 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (OJ 2000 L 152, p. 1) — Securities lodged at the time of application for the issue of the import licences — Determination of the amount to be forfeited in respect of quantities for which proof concerning the export licence with advance fixing of the refund was not provided within the time-limit specified

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 35 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 325/2003 of 20 February 2003, must be interpreted as meaning that the objective of the security referred to by that provision is not only to guarantee that the obligation to import the product concerned will be fulfilled but also to ensure that proof of the use of the licence will be submitted within a certain period.

2.Article 35(4)(c) of Regulation No 1291/2000, as amended by Regulation No 325/2003, must be interpreted as meaning that, where proof that a product has been correctly imported has been submitted late, the amount to be forfeited, in respect of the quantities for which proof has not been provided within the time-limit set under Article 35(4)(a) of that regulation, must be calculated on the basis of a level of security which was actually applied at the time when the application for the issue of the licence or licences relating to that importation was made. For the purposes of such an interpretation, it is irrelevant that the security was lodged on the basis of a rate that was higher than that applicable to other imports of the same type of product as the product imported, given that the latter was exempted from the payment of import duties.

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Language of the case: Italian.

ECLI:EU:C:2013:260