Case C-170/03

Staatssecretaris van Financiën

v

J.H.M. Feron

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden)

(Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 – Relief from customs duties – Meaning of ‘personal property’ and ‘possession’ – Motor vehicle made available to a person by his employer)

Opinion of Advocate General Poiares Maduro delivered on 19 May 2004

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 17 March 2005.

Summary of the Judgment

Common Customs Tariff – Relief from import duty – Concept of personal property – Passenger vehicle made available to a natural person by his employer and used for both business and private purposes – Included

(Council Regulation No 918/83, Arts 1(2)(c), 2 and 3)

Articles 1(2)(c), 2 and 3 of Regulation No 918/83 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty must be interpreted as meaning that a passenger vehicle which is made available to a natural person by his employer and is used by that person for both business and private purposes may be regarded as an item of personal property capable of benefiting from a relief from customs duty under Articles 2 and 3 of that regulation.

A combined reading of those provisions shows that, in order to qualify for relief from customs duty, the item of personal property must in particular have been in the possession of, and used by, the person concerned, as personal property, for at least six months before the date on which he ceased to have his normal place of residence in the country of origin.

First, in the absence of an express provision to that effect, exclusive personal use cannot be considered necessary in all circumstances for an item of property to be regarded as personal property, so that a passenger vehicle used both for private and business purposes must be capable of being regarded as such an item of personal property.

Secondly, the term ‘possession’ in Article 3 of the regulation implies that the relief need not be limited to property forming part of the assets of the person concerned for at least six months before his transfer of residence but also concerns other assets over which the person concerned exercises, effective and genuine control throughout the same period.

(see paras 14, 21-22, 27, 29, 32, operative part)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (First Chamber) 17 March 2005 (1)

(Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 – Relief from customs duties – Meaning of ‘personal property’ and ‘possession’ – Motor vehicle made available to a person by his employer)

In Case C-170/03,REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands), made by decision of 11 April 2003, received at the Court on 14 April 2003, in the proceedings

v

THE COURT (First Chamber),,

composed of P. Jann, President of the Chamber, A. Rosas, K. Lenaerts, S. von Bahr (Rapporteur) and K. Schiemann, Judges,

Advocate General: M. Poiares Maduro,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 18 March 2004,after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 19 May 2004,

gives the following

On those grounds, the Court (First Chamber) rules:

[Signatures]