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The Directive 2006/123/EC on the free provision of services in the internal market ensures the freedom of establishment of services providers and the freedom of services provision in Member States.

This Directive, transposed by Italy with the Decreto Legislativo no. 59 of 26th March 2010, provides for cases in which, for reasons of general interest and in accordance with the criteria of non-discrimination and proportionality, the access to and the exercise of a service activity are subject to the grant of a licence from an administrative authority.

For such a grant, a fee may be charged, unless it unduly complicates or delays the exercise of the service (art. 13, paragraph 2, Directive 2006/123/EC).

With regard to this, with judgment of 16th November 2016 in case C-316/15, on request for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the European Court of Justice has stated that a fee may be charged when applying for the grant or the renewal of a licence, provided that such a fee be reasonable and proportionate to the costs related to the management of the licensing regime.

Indeed, the Court has affirmed that, for the grant of a licence, other fees different from those related to the said management can’t be charged. 

In the case at issue, the competent authority had requested to pre-finance the costs for detecting and prosecuting unauthorised activities.

The Court has concluded that such a provision is in contrast with the European law, given that such a payment, not related to the management of the licensing regime, may have a dissuasive effect as to the opening of a business and, therefore, prejudice the free provision of services.