CJEU - C-221/15 / Judgment

Etablissements Fr. Colruyt
Policy area
Internal market
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Sixth Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
21/09/2016
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2016:704
  • CJEU - C-221/15 / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 2011/64/EU — Article 15(1) — Free determination, by the manufacturers and importers, of the maximum retail selling prices of manufactured tobacco products — National regulation prohibiting the sale of such products by retailers at prices lower than those indicated on the revenue stamp — Free movement of goods — Article 34 TFEU — Selling arrangements — Article 101 TFEU, read in conjunction with Article 4(3) TEU

    Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:

    On those grounds, the Court (Sixth Chamber) hereby rules:

    1. Article 15(1) of Directive 2011/64/EU of 21 June 2011 on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which prohibits retailers from selling tobacco products at a unit price lower than the price indicated by the manufacturer or importer on the revenue stamp affixed to those products, in so far as that price has been freely determined by the manufacturer or importer.
    2. Article 34 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which prohibits retailers from selling tobacco products at a unit price lower than the price indicated by the manufacturer or importer on the revenue stamp affixed to those products, in so far as that price has been freely determined by the importer.
    3. Article 101 TFEU, read in conjunction with Article 4(3) TEU, must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which prohibits retailers from selling tobacco products at a unit price lower than the price indicated by the manufacturer or importer on the revenue stamp affixed to those products.