On 27 September 2023, the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) delivered its judgments upholding several appeals brought by the Kingdom of Spain and several companies against the European Commission’s (EC) decision declaring the Spanish tax scheme on the deduction for indirect acquisitions of shareholdings in foreign companies to be unlawful State aid. As a result, the GCEU annulled the EC’s decision.
It remains to be seen whether the European Commission appeals this judgment to the Court of Justice of the EU. In the meantime, however, the EU General Court provides some very insightful observations on both the ability of the European Commission to revoke earlier decisions and the principle of legitimate expectations.
Read more in this PwC EU Direct Tax Group newsalert.