Official Journal of the European Union

C 180/27

(Case C-163/09)

2009/C 180/47

Language of the case: English

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Repertoire Culinaire Ltd

Defendant: The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs

Questions referred

1.Are cooking wine and cooking port subject to excise duty under Directive 92/83/EEC (1) in the Member State of importation on the grounds that they are within the definition of ‘ethyl alcohol’ under the first indent of article 20 of Directive 92/83?

2.Is it consistent with the Member State's obligation to give effect to the exemption contained in article 27.1(f) of Directive 92/83, when read with article 27(6), and/or with article 28 EC and/or with the direct effect of those obligations and/or with the principles of equal treatment and proportionality to restrict the exemption for cooking wine, cooking port and cooking cognac to cases where alcoholic beverages have been used as an ingredient and to restrict the applicants for exemption to those persons who have used the alcoholic beverages as an ingredient in products and/or those persons who carry on business as wholesalers of such products and/or they produced or manufactured such products for the purposes of that business and subject to the further conditions that claims be made within an overall period of four months from the payment of duty and that the amount of the repayment be not less than £250?

3.Should the cooking wine and cooking port, if liable to duty under the first indent of article 20 of Directive 92/83, and/or the cooking cognac, subject to the present appeal, be treated as exempt from excise duty at the point of manufacture under article 27.1(f), alternatively article 27.1(e), of Directive 92/83?

4.In the light of articles 10 and 28 EC. what effect, if any does it have on Member States’ obligations under articles 20 and 27.1(f), alternatively article 27.1(e), of Directive 92/83 if cooking wine, cooking port and cooking cognac have been released by the Member State of manufacture from the excise movement system under Directive 92/12 into free movement within the European Union?

(1) Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages OJ L 316, p. 21