30.8.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 223/39

(Case C-334/08)

(2008/C 223/65)

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: A. Aresu and A. Caeiros, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Italian Republic

Form of order sought

—declare that the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 10 EC, Article 8 of Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Communities' own resources, and Articles 2, 6, 10, 11 and 17 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 of 22 May 2000 implementing Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom on the system of the Communities' own resources by refusing to make available to the Commission the own resources corresponding to the customs obligation deriving from the issue, from 27 February 1997, by the departmental head office of customs of the Regions of Apulia and Basilicata, located in Bari, of irregular authorisations to create and operate Type C customs bonded warehouses in Taranto, followed by consecutive authorisations for processing under customs control and to use the inward processing procedure, until their revocation on 4 December 2002;

—order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By the present action the Commission of the European Communities complains that the Italian Government has refused to make available to the European Communities the own resources — quantified at approximately EUR 23 million — corresponding to certain irregular customs authorisations issued in Taranto in the period from February 1997 to December 2002 inclusive.

The contested subject-matter concerns, essentially, liability for the amounts relating to the resources not collected owing to the irregular transactions in question. The Italian Government submits that it is not liable for the missing revenue caused by those irregularities, since the latter were solely attributable to the officials who caused the loss, whereas the Commission takes the view that the Community legislation in force requires the Italian State to make itself responsible for all the financial consequences deriving from the action — including irregular action — of officials who act in its name and on its behalf.

(<span class="super">1</span>) OJ L 253 of 7.10.2000, p. 42.

(<span class="super">2</span>) OJ L 130 of 31.5.2000, p. 1.