| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2013) 527 final (17.7.13) |
| Publication Date | 17/07/2013 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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On 27 September 2012, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in joined cases C-113/10, C-147/10 and C-234/10, Zuckerfabrik Jülich AG v Hauptzollamt Aachen, British Sugar plc v Rural Payments Agency, Tereos v Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects (the “Jülich-II” judgment) by which it annulled Commission Regulation (EC) No 1193/2009 of 3 November 2009 fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for the marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006. The levies for the marketing years in question were originally set by the Commission pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector ('the basic regulation'), which provided for a self-financing system of the sugar sector by flexible production levies. Under Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001, the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector was based on the principle that producers should bear full financial responsibility for the losses incurred each marketing year from disposing of that part of Community production under quota which is surplus to the Community's internal consumption and on a differentiation of price guarantees for disposal, reflecting the production quota allocated to each undertaking. The principle of financial responsibility was assured by producers being charged a basic production levy on all production of A and B sugar, limited to 2% of the intervention price for white sugar and a B levy charged on the production of B sugar up to a limit of 37.5% of that price. When those levies did not allow achieving the objective of self-financing of the sector each marketing year, the basic regulation provided for an additional levy to be charged to producers. In its above mentioned judgments, the Court did not put into question the production levy system and the principle by which the sugar producers had to bear the full financial responsibility for the losses incurred in each marketing year by disposing of that part of production under quota which is surplus to the Union's internal consumption and were accordingly liable to a levy on their production under quota, to be fixed by the Commission with a view to covering the losses incurred. The Court has ruled, however, that the Commission has repeatedly erred in calculating the annual levies set for the period in question. Lastly, it found that the method used by the Commission to fix the levies was incorrect because it led to an over-estimation of the costs to be covered and to consequently over-charging sugar producers. As a result of the invalidity of Regulation (EC) No 1193/2009, the Court held that individuals are entitled to reimbursement of the excess sums unduly paid in respect of the invalid production levies collected by the Member States over the period in question as well as to the payment of interest on such sums. The judgement has left a legal void as to the exact amount of the levies for the marketing years 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006. Therefore, to comply with the judgement, the levies set for these marketing years should be replaced by new ones, calculated according to the method validated by the Court, with retroactive effect. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2013:527:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
