In a major blow to the European Commission and its competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, the Union’s second-highest court has ruled that Apple does not have to reimburse Ireland €13 billion in back taxes. 

On Wednesday, the European General Court (EGC) annulled a 2016 ruling which had found the tech giant had been given illegal tax breaks by Dublin, citing that there was not enough evidence to show Apple had breached EU competition rules. 

“The General Court annuls the contested decision because the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage for the purposes of Article 107(1) TFEU1,” the judges said. 

The EU Executive has 14 days to appeal against the decision at the Union’s Supreme Court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ). 

Apple has welcomed the ruling, saying that “this case was not about how much tax we pay, but where we are required to pay it. We’re proud to be the largest taxpayer in the world as we know the important role tax payments play in society.”

The Commission’s 2016 decision supported that the tech giant had benefited from “illegal state aid”, after Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13 billion to Apple, allowing the latter to pay substantially less tax than other businesses, between 2003 and 2014. 

However, the Irish government argued that Apple did not have to repay back the taxes, as the country’s loss was worth it to make Ireland an attractive home for large companies.