B — · Kurt A. Becher v Hauptzollamt Emden (154/73)

B —The oral observations of Becher and the Commission were made at the hearing on 27 November 1973.In the course of the oral procedure Becher asserted that it can be established from Regulation No 974/71 that the reference ‘prices’ envisaged in Article 2 must conform with reality by being based upon actual import prices, in other words that on importation from third countries the criterion must be, if not the c.i.f. price valid on the day of importation, at least a c.i.f. price brought up to date at frequent intervals. There must be similar criteria both for the calculation of the compensatory amount and for that of the levy. In the recitals of Regulation No 974/71 it is expressly declared that the compensatory amounts should be limited to the amounts strictly necessary to compensate the incidence of monetary measures. This legislative objective can only be attained by undertaking a continual review of c.i.f. prices.In reply to a question of the Court the Commission explained in the following manner the difference between the c.i.f. price of 193·10 DM alleged by Becher and that of 194·90 DM which it considered correct:In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation No 156/67 (OJ of 23 June 1967, p. 2533), the amount of the levy is modified only when variations in the components for calculation lead to an increase or a reduction of more than 0·60 u.a. per metric ton in relation to the levy previously fixed.On 30 September 1971 the Commission's departments fixed the c.i.f. price at 52·75 u.a. or 193·10 DM. This gave, with effect from 1 October 1971, a levy equal to 207 DM per metric ton. This levy and not the c.i.f. price was published and enabled Becher to make en approximate calculation of the c.i.f. price at 193·10 DM (threshold price, at the time 400·08 DM, minus levy equals c.i.f. price). From 8 October 1971 the c.i.f. price was fixed at 53·25 u.a. per metric ton. Thus it only exceeded the c.i.f. price in force on 30 September 1971 by 0·50 u.a. and therefore did not lead to an alteration of the amount of the levy.