Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 20 September 2012 — Hungary v Commission

(Case T‑89/10)

Structural funds — Financial assistance — M43 Motorway between Szeged and Makó — VAT — Non-eligible expenditure

1.                     Economic, social and territorial cohesion — Structural assistance — EU financing — Eligible expenses — Non-deductible VAT — Concept to be determined in accordance with the rules specific to each fund and not in accordance with national law — Concept referring to the facility of the beneficiary to deduct that tax (Council Regulations No 1083/2006, Art. 56(4) and No 1084/2006, Art. 3(e)) (see paras 36-40, 50-55)

2.                     European Union law — Texts in several languages — Uniform interpretation — Divergence between language versions — General scheme and purpose of the rules in question as a reference point (see paras 43-44)

Re:

ACTION for annulment brought against the Commission Decision of 14 December 2009 relating to the major project ‘M43 Motorway between Szeged and Makó’, forming part of the ‘Transport’ operational programme for European Union structural support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund under the ‘Convergence’ objective (CCI 2008HU161PR016).

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Hungary to pay the costs.