Luxembourg, 19/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - The fifth Chamber of the European Court of Justice has just passed a judgement on the Tulliasiamies Antti Siilin affair, and subsequently the case law governing tax on imported second-hand vehicles. On the basis of this case law, it provides appreciation criteria in which the Supreme Administrative Court in Finland will have to use in passing judgement on the case of Finnish motorist, Antti Siilin, who bought a Mercedes 190 2.0 Diesel in Germany and his dispute with the Finnish Customs Administration. Dissatisfied with the tax he had to pay on returning to Finland, Mr Siilin took the case to the Finnish courts. The Supreme Administrative Court, to which it was referred, sent a whole series of questions to the European court of Justice, which has just provided it with a response.
The Court is dealing with elements of the Finnish tax and has indicated that the Supreme Court will have to make necessary modifications to bring it into line with European law.