Judgment_paragraph 36 · European Commission v French Republic (C-197/08)

36In that regard, Article 9(1) of Directive 95/59 provides that manufacturers, or, where appropriate, their representatives or authorised agents in the Community and importers of tobacco from non-member countries are to be free to determine the maximum retail selling price for each of their products, the aim being to ensure effective competition between them (Commission v Greece, paragraph 20). That provision seeks to ensure that the determination of the tax base of the proportional excise duty on tobacco products, that is the maximum retail selling price of those products, is subject to the same rules in all the Member States. It also aims, as the Advocate General states in point 40 of her Opinion, to maintain the freedom of the abovementioned economic operators, by which they may make effective use of the competitive advantage resulting from any lower cost prices.

European Commission v French Republic (C-197/08)

Key facts

History · 1 version

Connections