Judgment_paragraph 3. · Amministrazione delle finanze dello Stato v Ariete SpA (811/79)

3.The Commission observes in the first place that “there was no justification for the charges levied”. It refers in particular to the judgments of 14 December 1972 in Case 29/72 S.p.A. Marimex [1972] ECR 1309 and 19 June 1973 in Case 77/72 Capolongo, [1973] ECR 611, and to the Italian domestic measures and judgments referred to in the order making the reference.As to the arguments of the Amministrazione to the effect that repayment of charges levied on the basis of a national provision contrary to Community law rather than eliminating disturbances already produced would create fresh economic disequilibrium so disregarding the aims pursued by the Community legal order and that such repayment would mean inflated and unexpected profit to the traders concerned, the Commission contends that appreciation of such arguments would require thorough economic analysis. Since no study of that kind has been completed or even started, it must be concluded that the arguments are purely theoretical without any connexion with economic reality. The disequilibria which the repayment of the charges wrongly levied might cause in Community trade are purely hypothetical and impossible to quantify so that they cannot be taken into account.As to the fact that the burden of the charge has been passed on to their buyers by the undertakings who have discharged it, that is a purely economic matter which is certainly not peculiar to the present case. The economic situation, whatever it may be, cannot influence the answer to the problem of law raised by the obligation to repay charges levied contrary to Community law. All other considerations are subsidiary. In any case the national court has sole jurisdiction to decide any question of unlawful enrichment of the undertaking which obtains repayment and that court can consider the question only in the light of municipal law since there is no such rule known to Community law.If it were nevertheless necessary to pick out a rule of Community law in the matter it would be necessary to refer to the general principles of law and the Commission observes in this respect that reimbursement of sums paid but not owed is “automatic in all Member States save Denmark”. It follows that the obligation to reimburse charges wrongly levied is automatic save in exceptional cases (which the present is not) where equity imposes an obligation to place limits on reimbursement.As to the fact that the duties in question were levied before they were declared unlawful, the Commission points out that according to the established case-law of the Court of Justice Article 13 (2), providing for the abolition of charges having equivalent effect, is directly applicable as from the end of the transitional period. Further, since it relates to the agricultural sector where on the occasion of the establishment of the various organizations of the market the regulations in the matter have provided pursuant to Article 43 of the Treaty for the abolition of charges having equivalent effect during the transitional period, the prohibition on levying charges having equivalent effect has for the present purposes its origin in Article 22 of Regulation No 804/68 which took effect from 29 July 1968.Relying in particular on the judgment of the Court of 4 April 1968 in Case 34/67, Gebrüder Lück [1968] ECR 245, the judgment of 19 December 1968 in Case 13/68, Salgoil [1968] ECR 453 and the judgment of 15 July 1964 in Case 6/64, Costa v ENEL [1964] ECR 585, the Commission concludes that the national court must seek in municipal law for the means enabling it to apply Community law most effectively. It proposes that the question put to the Court of Justice should be answered as follows:“The Community provisions and in particular Article 22 of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 mean that parties have the right to obtain repayment of sums wrongly levied as charges having an effect equivalent to customs duties (in the present case statistical charges and health inspection charges) from the time when such charges were abolished as a result of the entry into force of the aforesaid regulation (29 July 1968). Repayment of such sums to those who have paid them is not incompatible with Community provisions for achieving a system of free competition within the EEC”.