It has been a year since the European Commission found irregularities in the taxes paid by Apple in Ireland during the years 2003 and 2014. As found, the Cupertino company obtained a favorable treatment compared to other companies in the sector and he managed to pay much less than he was due.
It was then that The European Commission decided on August 30, 2016 that Apple should pay € 13.000 billion of illegal state aid within a period of 4 months after the official notification of the sentence; In other words, its term ended - according to the European Commission itself - on January 3, 2017.
Likewise, from Brussels they know that recovering a certain amount of money is not always easy, but they have stated that more than a year has passed since the judgment occurred and Ireland has not recovered the money. What's more, it has not recovered even a part of the state aid. It is for this reason, and because Apple continues to benefit from illegal aid, that they have decided to take Ireland to court.
For its part, Ireland was dissatisfied with the decision taken and appealed the ruling in the TEU in order to avoid having to recover the figure estimated after sentencing. However, this resource does not prevent at any time, according to the European Commission itself in its statement and referring to article 278 of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). However, what it does allow is to recover the money and deposit it in a blocked account pending the development of legal proceedings.
Finally, the EC also reflects in its press release that a Member State of the European Community must implement the recovery decision immediately, which Ireland has not done. And this allows them to take the country back to court and may have monetary penalties for this delay.
More info: CE
