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Commission v. Italy

E.C.J. Case C-129/00, 2003 E.C.R. I-8003

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Commission v. Italy

European Union Court of Justice
E.C.J. Case C-129/00, 2003 E.C.R. I-8003

Facts

Under an Italian law (the law), duties and taxes levied in breach of European Union (EU) law were required to be repaid to the party who paid the illegal tax or duty. However, if the party paying the tax passed the cost of the tax on to a third party, such as a consumer, no repayment of the tax to the taxpaying party was required (the third-party exception). The Corte Suprema di Cassazione (the Italian court), the highest Italian court responsible for civil matters, interpreted the law in a manner that established a high evidentiary bar to show that the cost of the tax had not been passed on to third parties. Specifically, the Italian court held that when the party seeking repayment of an illegal tax was a commercial business, the court would assume that the cost of the tax had been passed on to a consumer. The Italian court also required those seeking repayment under the law to produce substantial documentation and accounting records to prove that the cost of an illegal tax had not been passed on to a third party. The European Commission (the commission) brought an enforcement action against Italy. The commission argued that the third-party exception, as interpreted and applied by the Italian court, violated EU law.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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European Union Law

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