Opinions nº C-31/06 of Court of Justice of the European Communities, June 14, 2007
Linked as:
Summary
Sugar - Production levies - Calculation - Determination of the exportable surplus - Determination of the average loss
See the full content of this document
Extract
Opinions nº C-31/06 of Court of Justice of the European Communities, June 14, 2007
1. In the present cases the Court is asked whether the method of calculation applied by the Commission for setting the amount of production levies intended to finance the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector is valid. Production levies are intended in particular to reflect the cost to the Community of export refunds, or payments which are made in certain circumstances to compensate sugar producers for the fact that world prices of sugar are, in general, lower than the supported Community price. A number of sugar producers challenge the lawfulness of two aspects of the calculation of production levies.
2. The first step of that calculation requires the overall loss for a given marketing year to be estimated before the end of that marketing year by multiplying the -exportable surplus- by the estimated -average loss- per tonne. 3. The -exportable surplus- is defined, essentially, as the production of sugar minus sugar quantities -disposed of for consumption within the Community-. The latter concept is defined, essentially, as the total of opening sugar stocks, sugar production and sugar imports, minus the total of closing sugar stocks and exported sugar. Exported sugar comprises sugar exported in the natural state and sugar -contained in exported processed products-. The applicant sugar producers submit, first, that sugar which is contained in exported processed products and in respect of which no export refunds were paid should not be regarded as sugar -contained in exported processed products- for the purpose of this calculation. 4. The -average loss- per tonne is defined, essentially, as the total amount of refunds divided by the total tonnage of -export obligations to be fulfilled- in the marketing year concerned. In the alternative, the applicant sugar producers submit that if (contrary to their principal submission) sugar -contained in exported processed products- includes all such sugar, whether or not export refunds were paid, -export obligations to be fulfilled- should similarly include all exports of sugar, including those in respect of which no export refunds were paid. 5. It is common ground that (at least) the principal objective of production levies is to ensure that sugar producers finance the costs of disposing of excess Community production. The sugar producers submit that the Commission-s method of calculating the levies results in their paying more than those costs. Community legislation The basic regulation 6. The common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector was at the material time regulated by Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 ( 2 ) (-the basic regulation-), which applied for the 2001/02 to 2005/06 mark...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
