Case highlight - Apple State aid case

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬🚨 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐄𝐔 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 €𝟏𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞.

This is today’s second (important) victory for the EU Commission, together with the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the Google Shopping case (see our LinkedIn post).

In 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔, the EU Commission found that Ireland had granted unlawful and incompatible State aid to two companies belonging to the Apple Group, through tax rulings concerning the internal allocation of profits within Apple. The Commission ordered Ireland to recover the aid, comprising tax benefits worth up to €13 billion.

In 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎, the General Court confirmed that the EU Commission can, in principle, review tax rulings under State aid rules and apply the “arm’s length principle”, provided that this principle is embedded in national tax law. However, it found that the EU Commission did not show that Apple had been granted a selective advantage, essentially criticizing the EU Commission’s assessment of the tax rulings under the applicable Irish tax law. The General Court therefore annulled the decision.

In 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲’s judgment, the European Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court. In summary, it rules that the General Court erroneously found that the EU Commission’s assessment was not sufficient to demonstrate that the tax rulings constituted a selective advantage. The Court also gives final judgment on the matter itself, rather than referring the case back to the General Court, and confirms the initial decision of the EU Commission.

This means that Ireland will now have to recover the tax benefits granted to Apple, amounting to approximately €13 billion.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨?
Read the judgement 🖹 

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