62020CJ0705_SUM
Case C‑705/20
Fossil (Gibraltar) Ltd
v
Commissioner of Income Tax
(Request for a preliminary rulingfrom the Income Tax Tribunal of Gibraltar)
Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 15 September 2022
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – State aid – Aid schemes implemented by the Government of Gibraltar concerning corporate income tax – Decision (EU) 2019/700 – Non-taxation of passive interest and royalty income – Decision of the European Commission declaring the aid scheme unlawful and incompatible with the internal market – Recovery obligation – Scope – Domestic provision which was not the subject of the Commission’s investigation concerning the State aid at issue – Set-off of the tax paid abroad in order to prevent double taxation)
Aid granted by a Member State – Recovery of unlawful aid – Restoration of the prior situation – Calculation of the amount to be recovered
(Art. 108(2) TFEU; Council Regulation 2015/1589, Art. 16(3))
(see paragraphs 39-48, 50-55, 62, operative part)
Questions referred for a preliminary ruling – Jurisdiction of the Court – Limits – Examination of the compatibility of aid with the internal market – Precluded – Providing the national court with full guidance on the interpretation of EU law – Interpretation of the concept of aid – Included
(Arts 107(1), 108 and 267 TFEU)
(see paragraph 56)
Aid granted by a Member State – Concept – Grant by the public authorities of favourable tax treatment to certain undertakings – Included – Advantages resulting from a general measure applicable without distinction to all economic operators – Precluded
(Art. 107(1) TFEU)
(see paragraphs 57, 58)
Aid granted by a Member State – Concept – Selective nature of the measure – Mechanism for the set-off of tax paid abroad in order to prevent double taxation
(Art. 107(1) TFEU)
(see paragraphs 59- 61)
See the text of the decision.