Lausanne, 21/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - Cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris has announced it has filed an application before the European Court of First Instance challenging the decision by the European Commission to initiate a lawsuit in the District Court for the Eastern District of New York for recovery of customs duties and taxes. The American group is seeking a declaration from the European Court that the European Commission lacks the legal authority under European law to file the lawsuit in the United States. "We failed to understand why the European Commission chose to address the issues raised in this matter in a US court rather than through regulatory and cooperative actions within the framework of the European Union", said David D. Davies, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Philip Morris Europe. He went on to say "we believe that the European judicial authorities must examine the critical question of whether the Commission has the legal authority to assess and recover customs duties and taxes that are matters reserved to the Member States". Mr Davies added that his company hopes to actively cooperate with the European Commission and with the Member State governments in order to combat cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting.
EUROPE recalls that the Commission had justified its initiative by the fact that smuggling causes a loss in tax receipts, one part of which is earmarked for the Community budget. The EU therefore suffers direct prejudice and the Commission must act to counter this.