Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2021:646
Date: 2021-10-06
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: State aids;Competition
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 6 October 2021 – AZ v Commission (Case T‑196/19) (1) (State aid – Aid scheme implemented by Germany for some large electricity consumers – Exemption from network charges in respect of the 2012-2013 period – Decision declaring the aid scheme incompatible with the internal market and unlawful, and ordering the recovery of the aid paid – Action for annulment – Period allowed for commencing proceedings – Admissibility – Concept of aid – State resources – Selectivity – Equal treatment – Legitimate expectations) 1. Action for annulment – Time limits – Point from which time starts to run – Date of publication or notification – Day on which a measure came to the knowledge of the applicant – Subsidiary matter – Measures required, pursuant to a regulatory provision, to be published in the Official Journal – Decision by the Commission to end a formal investigation procedure concerning State aid – Action brought by a party that is not the addressee of the decision – Time limit calculated from the date of publication (Art. 263, sixth para., TFEU; Council Regulation 2015/1589, Arts 9 and 32(3)) (see paras 35-38, 40) 2. State aid – Definition – Aid from State resources – Concept of State resources – Exemption from network charges granted to certain large consumers of electricity – Compensation for the loss in network operators’ revenue by the introduction of a surcharge imposed on certain end users and on the suppliers of electricity – Included – Conditions – Surcharge which can be assimilated to a parafiscal levy – Public control over the funds obtained by means of the surcharge or over the administrators of those funds – Alternative conditions (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paras 56-74, 77) 3. State aid – Definition – Grant attributable to the State of an advantage by means of State resources – Aid granted in breach of national rules – Irrelevant (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paras 75, 76) 4. State aid – Definition – Aid from State resources – Concept of State resources – Exemption from network charges granted to certain large consumers of electricity – Compensation for the loss in network operators’ revenue by the introduction of a surcharge imposed on certain end users and on the suppliers of electricity – Surcharge passed on entirely, by a legal obligation, to those parties as ultimately liable for payment – Surcharge which can be assimilated to a parafiscal levy – Surcharge mechanism falling within the concept of State resources (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paras 78-98) 5. State aid – Definition – Aid from State resources – Concept of State resources – Exemption from network charges granted to certain large consumers of electricity – Compensation for the loss in network operators’ revenue by the introduction of a surcharge imposed on certain end users and on the suppliers of electricity – Public control of the entire mechanism of levying the surcharge and of allocating the funds generated – Public control over the funds obtained by means of the surcharge – Surcharge mechanism falling within the concept of State resources (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paras 99-114) 6. State aid – Definition – Selective nature of the measure – Measure conferring a tax advantage – Reference framework for determining the existence of an advantage – Material scope – Criteria – Identifying the ordinary or normal tax regime (Art. 107(1) TFEU) (see paras 122-133) 7. State aid – Recovery of unlawful aid – Aid granted in breach of the procedural rules of Article 108 TFEU – Legitimate expectations entertained by the recipients – None save in exceptional circumstances (Art. 108(3) TFEU) (see paras 148-155) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders AZ to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission; 3. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to bear its own costs. 1 OJ C 213, 24.6.2019.