The European Commission announced on Friday 25 September that it is appealing against the judgment of the General Court of the European Union (TEU) (Cases T-778/16 and T-892/16), which on 15 July annulled the decision ordering Ireland to recover €13 billion in tax benefits from Apple (see EUROPE 12528/1)
A new episode of the soap opera between Apple and the European Commission has begun.
The Executive Vice-President of the Commission, Margrethe Vestager, announced that the Commission has decided to appeal to the Court of Justice against the decision of the EU General Court.
“The Commission considers that the General Court committed a number of errors of law. Making sure that all companies, big and small, pay their fair share of tax remains a top priority for the Commission”, said Vestager. And she continued: “The General Court has repeatedly confirmed the principle that, while Member States have competence in determining their taxation laws taxation, they must do so in respect of EU law, including State aid rules. If Member States give certain multinational companies tax advantages not available to their rivals, this harms fair competition in the European Union in breach of State aid rules.
We have to continue to use all tools at our disposal to ensure companies pay their fair share of tax”, she went on.
The S&D group in the European Parliament welcomed Ms Vestager's willingness to “push for greater fairness in company taxation”. This group hopes that Ms Vestager will win the appeal and that Apple will be obliged to repay the Irish people €13 billion of illegal State aid.
Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe reiterated on Friday that “no State aid was given and that the Irish branches of the relevant Apple companies paid the full amount of tax due in accordance with the law. An appeal to the CJEU must be on a point, or points, of law. This appeal process could take up to two years to complete”, he said.
Paschal Donohoe says further: “I note the decision of the European Commission to lodge an appeal to the CJEU. Ireland has not yet been served with formal notice of the appeal. When it is received, the Government will need to take some time to review in detail the legal justification set out in the appeal and to consult with Government counsel in response to the appeal”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)