9.6.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 129/11

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Zala Megyei Bíróság lodged on 10 April 2007 — OTP Bank Rt. and Merlin Gerin Zala Kft. v Zala Megyei Közigazgatási Hivatal

(Case C-195/07)

(2007/C 129/19)

Language of the case: Hungarian

Referring court

Zala Megyei Bíróság

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: OTP Bank Rt. and Merlin Gerin Zala Kft.

Defendant: Zala Megyei Közigazgatási Hivatal

Questions referred

1.

Must point 3(a) of Chapter 4 of Annex X to the ‘Act of Accession’ (1) (the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded), which is applicable pursuant to Article 24 of the Act of Accession, which provides that ‘Hungary may apply, up to and including 31 December 2007, local business tax reductions of up to 2 % of the net receipts of undertakings, granted by local government for a limited period of time on the basis of Articles 6 and 7 of Act C of 1990 on Local Taxes’, be interpreted as meaning that:

—

Hungary has been granted a temporary derogation which allows it to maintain local business tax, or that

—

by granting the possibility to maintain local business tax reductions, the Act of Accession also recognises that Hungary has the (provisional) right to maintain a tax on economic activities?

(2)

Should Question 1 be answered in the negative, the referring court also asks the following question:

On a correct interpretation of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC (2), what are the criteria on which a tax may be considered not to be characterised as a turnover tax for the purposes of Article 33 of the Sixth Directive?

(1)  OJ 2003 L 236, p. 846.

(2)  OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1.