Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen
| van Gend en Loos | |
|---|---|
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| Submitted 16 August 1962 Decided 5 February 1963 |
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| Full case name | NV Algemene Transporten Expeditie Onderneming van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen |
| Case number | 26/62 |
| ECLI | ECLI:EU:C:1963:1 |
| Chamber | Full court |
| Nationality of parties | Netherlands |
| Procedural history | Tariefcommissie, decision of 14 August 1962 (8847/48 T) |
| Court composition | |
| Legislation affecting | |
| Interpreted Article 12 TEEC | |
Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen (1963) Case 26/62 was a landmark case of the European Court of Justice which established that provisions of the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community were capable of creating legal rights which could be enforced by both natural and legal persons before the courts of the Community's member states. This is now called the principle of direct effect. The case is acknowledged as being one of the most important, and possibly the most famous development of European Union law.
The case arose from the reclassification of a chemical, by the Benelux countries, into a customs category entailing higher customs charges. Preliminary questions were asked by the Dutch Tariefcommissie in a dispute between Van Gend en Loos and the Dutch Tax Authority. The European Court of Justice held that this breached a provision of the treaty requiring member states to progressively reduce customs duties between themselves, and continued to rule that the breach was actionable by individuals before national courts and not just by the member states of the Community themselves.
Van Gend en Loos, a postal and transportation company, imported urea-formaldehyde from West Germany to the Netherlands. The Dutch customs authorities charged them a tariff on the import. Van Gend en Loos objected, submitting that the tariff was contrary to EC law. Article 12 of the Treaty of Rome (now replaced by Article 30 TFEU) stated:
"Member States shall refrain from introducing between themselves any new customs duties on imports and exports or any charges having equivalent effect, and from increasing those which they already apply in their trade with each other."
Van Gend en Loos paid the tariff but then sought to retrieve the money in the national court (Tariefcommissie). The Tariefcommissie made a request for a preliminary ruling to the European Court of Justice, asking whether the then Article 12 of the Treaty of Rome conferred rights on the nationals of a member state that could be enforced in national courts.
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