Brussels, 17/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to France calling on it to take measures in order to comply with the European Court of Justice's ruling of 27 February last concerning differential taxation of dark and Virginia-type tobacco. If no satisfactory reply to the reasoned opinion comes from Paris before 19 February, the Commission may refer the matter to the Court and ask the Court to impose daily penalties on France.
France imposes a minimum price system for all cigarettes sold under a single brand, and maintains different tax rates on dark and Virginia-type cigarettes, to the disadvantage of the latter (the minimum rate of excise duty on dark tobacco cigarettes is 20% lower than the duty for Virginia-type tobacco cigarettes). Last February, the Court considered that the French practice was in breach not only of the European directives, which provide that manufacturers and importers shall be free to determine the retail selling price of manufactured tobaccos, but also of Article 90 of the Treaty, which forbids tax differentials between similar products that discriminate against products from other Member States. The overwhelming majority of dark-tobacco cigarettes sold in France are manufactured locally while most "Virginia-type" cigarettes are imported.
As France has so far failed to notify the measures it has taken to comply with the ruling, despite a letter of formal notice, the Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion for failure to comply with a Court ruling. In a press release, the Commission notes, however, "recent legislative developments in this area in France and it is monitoring the situation in the hope that the Member State will shortly confirm that it is bringing its law into line with the Court's ruling".