On September 10th, 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in favor of the European Commission, concluding that two Irish subsidiaries of Apple had benefited from illegal state aid provided by Ireland. The core legal question revolves around the allocation of profits to Apple’s Irish branches. The Irish tax authorities argued that the profits from the IP licenses were not generated by the Irish branches and thus were not taxable in Ireland. The CJEU sided with the European Commission’s view that the profits should be taxed in the Irish branches due to minimal activity at the head offices of the two Irish companies. This decision is conclusive, requiring Ireland to complete the recovery of over € 13 billion. The ruling could strengthen the European Commission’s efforts in other ongoing investigations, especially after setbacks in cases involving Fiat, Amazon, and ENGIE, all related to Luxembourg.
