Brussels, 22/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - In the fifth ruling on tax exemptions granted in France, Ireland and Italy for alumina production, the European General Court did a U-turn on its previous rulings on Friday 22 April, now confirming the European Commission's decision and stating that this is state aid that needs to be repaid.
In the previous related cases (T-50/06 RENV II, T-69/06 RENV II, T-56/06 RENV II, T-60/06 RENV II and T-62/06 RENV II), the General Court thus gives effect to the European Court of Justice ruling of 2013 that sent the case to the General Court, considering that the Commission's power was justified in this domain (see EUROPE 10983). The General Court has now validated the Commission's 2005 decision that the aid must be repaid and has ordered the three member states to recover the aid, paid in the form of excise duty exemptions on mineral oil granted from February 2002 to 31 December 2003 to their alumina producers.
The aid had been authorised by the EU Council of Ministers but the General Court finally decided that the Commission had the power to examine whether the tax exemptions were state aid, despite the authorisation given by the Council. The judges ruled that the Council's authorisation decisions did not prejudge the impact of decisions taken by the Commission in exercising its powers over state aid. The Commission's decision being justified, the tax exemptions granted to the companies provided them with a definite benefit and created an uneven playing field. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)
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