Three Requests for a preliminary ruling from the Genoa Provincial Tax Tribunal have been published on the Official Journal of the European Union of 29 March 2016 (Case C–10/16, Ignazio Messina & C. SpA v Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti, Case C-11/16, Ignazio Messina & C. SpA v Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli and Case C-12/16, Ignazio Messina & C. SpA v Autorità portuale di Genova).

In all three cases, the questions referred are the following:

“… 1. Does Regulation EEC No 4055/1986, (1) as interpreted by the Court of Justice, preclude the application of national legislation, such as Decree No 107/2009 of the President of the Republic, which requires payment of a fee that differs according to whether it relates to vessels coming from or going to a State outside the EU or vessels coming from or going to an Italian port?

2. Does Regulation EEC No 4055/1986, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, preclude the application of national legislation, such as Decree No 107/2009 of the President of the Republic, which requires payment of a fee that differs according to whether it relates to vessels coming from or going to a State outside the EU or vessels coming from or going to a port within the EU, where that difference may be justified by the performance of public authority functions and/or duties and/or activities not expressly funded by that fee?

3. Does Regulation EEC No 4055/1986, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, preclude the application of national legislation, such as Decree No 107/2009 of the President of the Republic, which requires payment of a fee that differs according to whether it relates to vessels coming from or going to a State outside the EU or vessels coming from or going to a port within the EU, where that difference may be justified by the performance of public authority functions by entities other than that which receives the fee?

4. Does Regulation EEC No 4055/1986, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, preclude the application of national legislation, such as Decree No 107/2009 of the President of the Republic, which requires payment of a fee that differs according to whether it relates to vessels coming from or going to a State outside the EU or vessels coming from or going to a port within the EU, where that difference may be justified by the performance of public authority functions but no determination has been made of the individual costs to be covered, so that it is not possible to verify, either beforehand or afterwards, the costs of which services have in fact been covered [or] in what way and to what extent that fee has in fact funded those services? …”.