SC Petrotel-Lukoil SA and Maria Magdalena Georgescu v Ministerul Economiei and Others

ECLI:EU:C:2018:139 Case C‑76/17 SC Petrotel-Lukoil SA and Maria Magdalena Georgescuv Ministerul Economiei and Others(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Înalta Curte de Casaţie şi Justiţie)(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Charges having an effect equivalent to customs duties — Article 30 TFEU — Internal taxation — Article 110 TFEU — Charge applied to exported petroleum products — Charge not passed on to the consumer — Tax burden for the taxpayer — Reimbursement of the sums paid by the taxpayer)Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 1 March 2018 EU law — Direct effect — National taxes incompatible with EU law — Repayment —Taxpayer’s practice meaning that the charge is not passed on to the consumer — Tax burden for the taxpayer — Refusal of repayment based on the scheme laid down in national legislation for passing on the charge — Not permissible(Art. 30 TFEU)EU law, in particular Article 30 TFEU, must be interpreted as meaning that the taxpayer, who in fact pays the charge having an equivalent effect contrary to that article, must be able to obtain reimbursement of the sums which it has paid by way of that charge, even in a situation where the payment mechanism for the charge has been designed in national legislation so that the charge is passed on to the consumer.(see para. 39, operative part)