Luxembourg, 27/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The French system for the taxation of cigarettes, which is heavier for imported cigarettes made of light tobacco, than for those of dark tobacco, nearly all of French origin (Ed.: manufactured by Seita) runs counter to the Community regulation. The regulation bans any national taxation system that imposes heavier taxation on goods from another Member State than on goods with the same characteristics produced on national territory. In line with its case law, the Court considers that the tax provisions of the Treaty cannot authorise a taxation system that would be to the advantage of national products to the detriment of similar imported products, the Court's spokesman's service states.