Emsland-Stärke GmbH v Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Jonas (C-110/99)
law://eu/cjeu/1999/c-110-99/para_56@2026-11-12
Key facts
Court
Court of Justice · Full Court
Case
C-110/99 · ECLI:EU:C:2000:695
Decided
14 Dec 2000
Procedure
Preliminary reference
Applicant
Emsland-Stärke GmbH
Defendant
Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Jonas
Rapporteur
L. Seven
Advocate General
S. Alber
Bench
10 judgesC. Gulmann, A. La Pergola, M. Wathelet, V. Skouris (Presidents of Chambers), D.A.O. Edward, J.-P. Puissochet, P. Jann, L. Seven, R. Schintgen, F. Macken
56Contrary to the assertions of Emsland-Stärke, the obligation to repay refunds received in the event that the two constituent elements of an abuse are established would not breach the principle of lawfulness. The obligation to repay is not a penalty for which a clear and unambiguous legal basis would be necessary, but simply the consequence of a finding that the conditions required to obtain the advantage derived from the Community rules were created artificially, thereby rendering the refunds granted undue payments and thus justifying the obligation to repay them.