Brussels, 05/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to open the formal state aid investigation procedure in relation to the excise duty exemptions on heavy oils used for alumina production in Ireland, France and Italy (alumina is a white power principally used in aluminium smelters). EU legislation (Council Directive 92/82/EEC) establishes a minimum rate of excise duty on heavy oil of ECU 13 per 1000 kg. The excise duty normally applied by Ireland, France and Italy to industrial heavy oil is above this minimum rate. However, based on the authorisation decisions taken after the Directive came into force, the three countries in question have been exempting from excise duty mineral oils used for alumina production in the Shannon region (IRL), Gardanne (France) and Sardinia (Italy). The Commission's preliminary conclusion is that the exemptions in question constitute state aid since they confer an advantage financed through state resources that only applies to certain undertakings of regions and therefore distort competition and affect intra-community trade since the three Member States export alumina to other EU countries.