Sentencia del Tribunal de Justicia (Sala Primera), de 10 de marzo de 2005, en el asunto C-491/03 (petición de decisión prejudicial planteada por el Hessischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof): Ottmar Hermann contra Stadt Frankfurt am Main («Impuestos indirectos — Directiva 92/12/CEE — Impuesto municipal que grava el despacho de bebidas alcohólicas para su consumo inmediato in situ»)

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Published date: 18 May 2005
• Celex Number: C2005/115/12

14.5.2005 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 115/6

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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

of 10 March 2005

in Case C-491/03 Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hessischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof: Ottmar Hermann v Stadt Frankfurt am Main (1)

(Indirect tax - Directive 92/12/EEC - Local tax on the supply of alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption on the premises)

(2005/C 115/12)

Language of the case: German

In Case C-491/03: reference for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Hessischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Germany), made by decision of 1 October 2003, received at the Court on 20 November 2003, in the proceedings pending before that court between Ottmar Hermann (in his capacity as liquidator of Volkswirt Weinschänken GmbH) and Stadt Frankfurt am Main — the Court (First Chamber), composed of P. Jann, President of the Chamber, K. Lenaerts (Rapporteur), N. Colneric, K. Schiemann and E. Juhász, Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General, H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on 10 March 2005, the operative part of which is as follows:

1. A tax which is levied, in a catering context, on the supply for consideration of alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption on the premises must be considered to be a tax on the supply of services relating to products subject to excise duty which cannot be characterised as a turnover tax for the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 3(3) of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products.

2. The ‘same proviso’ to which taxes falling within the scope of the second subparagraph of Article 3(3) of Directive 92/12 are subject refers only to the condition set out in the first subparagraph of that paragraph, namely that such ‘taxes do not give rise to border-crossing formalities in trade...