Court of Justice (Sixth Chamber) 29 April 2004, C-387/01 (Harald Weigel and Ingrid Weigel v Finanzlandesdirektion für Vorarlberg.)

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Articles 12 EC and 39 EC do not preclude a Member State from levying a standard fuel consumption tax (Normverbrauchsabgabe base tax) on a private individual who imports a vehicle upon transferring residence for work, as such a tax constitutes internal taxation governed by Article 90 EC rather than a customs duty under Articles 23 EC and 25 EC. Under Article 90 EC, the base tax is permissible provided its assessment precisely reflects the actual depreciation of imported second-hand vehicles so that the tax burden does not exceed the residual tax embedded in similar domestic vehicles. However, Article 90 EC precludes the imposition of a 20% surcharge on that base tax where such an increase applies almost exclusively to imported vehicles.AI