40It should be recalled in that respect that, save for the specific situation of vehicles which are imported into the Community temporarily and motor vehicles intended exclusively for the road transport of goods with an authorised load of 12 tonnes or more, which are not at issue in the main proceedings, the taxation of motor vehicles has not been harmonised and differs considerably from one Member State to another. Member States are therefore free to exercise their powers of taxation in that area, provided they do so in compliance with Community law. It is lawful for them to allocate those powers of taxation amongst themselves on the basis of criteria such as the territory in which a vehicle is actually used or the residence of the driver, which are various components of the territoriality principle, and to conclude agreements amongst themselves to ensure that a vehicle is subject to indirect taxation in only one of the signatory States.
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