1. Interpretation of Direct Taxation Issues by the ECJ ‑ The Meaning and Scope of the Acte Clair Doctrine Lisbon 17-18 September 2007 Francisco Alfredo García Prats Universitat de València (Spain)

2. Universitat de València (Spain) F. Alfredo García2 (II) The rising of the Acte Clair in Tax Law and the implementation of the ECJ decisions (Im)Possible application of the Acte Clair in Direct Tax Law Domestic law point of view Level of exposure vs level of protection of EC Law in Direct Tax Law

3. Universitat de València (Spain) F. Alfredo García3 (Im)possible application of acte clair in direct taxes Different level of exposure to EC Law in different Member States: uniformity broken Scope of decisions on direct tax matters Refinements on the interpretation Remision to the discretionality of national judges Evolution of EC Law ‘as it stands at present’: temporal effect (remision)

4. Universitat de València (Spain) F. Alfredo García4 Domestic/constitutional concerns, limits and restraints for national judges (despite Simmenthal) Rule of law (principio de reserva de ley) in tax matters Preliminary ruling should prevail in front of acte clair except acte eclairé –Reinforcement of control mechanisms Domestic EC Law –Doctrine sistematization (Im)possible application of acte clair in direct taxes: domestic issues

5. Universitat de València (Spain) F. Alfredo García5 Level of exposure vs. level of protection of EC Law Level of exposure: –Attitude of National Judges towards EC Law –Application of acte clair doctrine –Reaction of the Commission Level of protection: –Interpretation of EC Law (including acte clair) –Judicial remedies Refund of unduly tax receipts Responsibility for non-fulfilment Domestic limitations (res iudicata, statute of limitations, … –Legal reaction Monitoring legal reaction Acte clair doctrine /’Settled’ case law