The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), on 30 May, 2024, delivered its judgement regarding the compatibility of the regional excise duty on hydrocarbons in Spain, from 2013 to 2018, under the harmonised excise legislation.
The CJEU has based its judgement on the statutes regarding a single level of taxation under Council Directive 2003/96/EC of October 27, 2003. This EU Directive amended the Community framework regarding the taxation of energy products and electricity.
The issue was whether the Directive permits varying tax rates within the same EU member state for identical products subject to the excise duty on hydrocarbons (IEH).
Spain has enforced IEH uniformly throughout the state and all its territories, and allowed autonomous regions to adjust the excise duty.
However, the CJEU ruled that the Directive prohibits such regional variations in the tax.
