Tax & Legal

In a recently published judgment, the Supreme Tax Court decided that only one fee for processing a binding information (advance ruling) may be charged to several applicants if the information is provided to the applicants in a uniform manner and on the same subject.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirms in his most recent judgment that the Commission has not established that the tax ruling given to Amazon by Luxembourg was a State aid that was incompatible with the internal market.

In its judgment of today in two joint cases the European Court of Justice held that the European Commission’s review of the tax rulings granted by Luxembourg to the Engie group infringed EU law. Hence, the ECJ sets aside the judgment of the General Court and annuls the decision of the EU Commission.

The tax exemptions by way of tax rulings from Belgium to companies forming part of multinational groups constitute an unlawful aid scheme. The General Court of the EU thus confirms the decision of the European Commission which found, in 2016, that the Belgian tax scheme was an infringement of the EU rules on State aid.

Advocate General Kokott is of the view that the Commission erred in deciding that Luxembourg had granted unauthorized state aid to Amazon in the form of tax advantages.

In her Opinion the Advocate General considers that the European Commission erred in finding that Luxembourg had granted unlawful State aid to the Engie group in the form of tax advantages (tax rulings). The AG proposes that the ECJ should uphold the appeals and, consequently, set aside the judgment of the General Court and annul the decision of the EU Commission.

The European Court of Justice in its judgment on two joined cases held today that the General Court wrongly upheld the Commission’s decision on State aid as regards the “tax rulings” issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities. The General Court erred when confirming the reference framework used by the Commission to apply the arm’s length principle to integrated companies in Luxembourg but failing to consider the specific rules implementing that principle in that Member State.

On 21 July 2021 Luxembourg has filed an appeal against the judgment of the General Court of 12 May 2021 in the joined cases T-516/18 and T-525/18 (Luxembourg and Engie Global LNG Holding and Others / Commission) regarding certain tax rulings concerning the transfer of business activities within the Engie group.

In a most recent judgment, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed the findings of the EU Commission in a Belgian case, namely that local tax exemptions granted by way of tax rulings to multinational companies constitutes selective and thus illicit State Aid. With this, the ECJ sets aside the first-instance decision of the European General Court and refers the case back for further review on other aspects of the case.