Judgment_paragraph 42 · R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. and Others v Commission of the European Communities (C-131/03 P)

42The Court of First Instance erred in failing to recognise, in paragraph 98 of the judgment under appeal, that the decisive factor in the judgment in Case C-312/90 Spain v Commission [1992] ECR I-4117 was that the Commission had preferred one procedure to another, thereby excluding the latter procedure. In that regard, the appellants also rely on Cases 8/66 to 11/66 CBR and Others v Commission [1967] ECR 75. By commencing the proceedings in question in the United States, the Commission made a choice of procedure which resulted in the exclusion not only of a reference for a preliminary ruling to the Court, but also of the material procedural guarantees attached to the relevant Community law procedures for the collection of the taxes and duties at issue.