Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-09/cp210157en.pdf

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Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 157/21

Luxembourg, 16 September 2021

Judgment in Case C-341/20 Commission v Italy

Italy has infringed EU law by exempting from excise duty fuels used for private pleasure craft, chartered and used by end users for non-commercial activities

The fact that the chartering of a vessel constitutes a commercial activity for the person making that vessel available to another does not justify the tax exemption in question A vessel charter agreement is a contract by which the owner of a vessel makes that vessel available, for a price (the freight), to a user (the charterer) who will use it for his or her needs. In Italy, chartering constitutes a commercial activity for the owner. By contrast, the charterer can use the vessel for commercial purposes (for example, for the paid transport of persons) or for private pleasure. (...)