Brussels, 25/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - A group of Dutch companies has decided to file a complaint with the Court of Justice in Luxembourg against the decision whereby the European Commission has opened an investigation into the tax advantages that the above companies would have gained illegally over the past four years, it was announced by the lawyer for these companies, Erik Pijnacker Hordijk. Since 1997, the Dutch companies operating on two continents have benefited from an advantageous tax regulation allowing them to keep part of some profits made by their subsidiaries abroad as a reserve in the event of risk and to not pay taxes on this reserve during a certain number of years. "It is only an extension as the taxes would have to be paid in time", is the argument defended by the Dutch Finance Minister. Suspecting disguised State aid, the services under Commissioner Mario Monti are currently studying the legality of these tax regulations compared to relevant European law. If scrutiny is positive, some 87 companies may be forced to reimburse tax advantages obtained since 1997, including interest. Confirming this information, the spokesperson for Commissioner Mario Monti recalled that the inquiry comes within the framework of large-scale procedure opened by the Commission on 11 July 2001 against tax regimes of companies in twelve Member States, including the Netherlands (see EUROPE of 12 July 2001, p.11).