#62023CC0757Opinion of Advocate General Kokott – 26 March 2026
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This opinion addresses the legality of state aid practices concerning tax rulings in Belgium, specifically focusing on the 'excess profit exemption.' It evaluates whether the European Commission and EU Courts must adhere to Belgium's interpretation of a national tax provision when assessing potential state aid violations. The opinion ultimately seeks to clarify the implications of Belgian tax law as it applies to multinational companies and the conditions under which aid recovery can be mandated.
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Key Changes
- Clarification of state aid assessment guidelines for tax rulings.
- Conditions under which aid recovery might be mandated from corporate groups.
- Impact of Belgian law interpretation on multinational companies.
Obligations
What this law requires
Belgium must recover state aid granted through the excess profit exemption tax ruling practice (2004-2014) from beneficiary companies as ordered by the European Commission Decision of 11 January 2016
Belgium must compile and submit a definitive list of all 55 beneficiary companies that received tax rulings under the excess profit exemption scheme to the European Commission
Belgian tax authorities must cease implementation of the excess profit exemption tax ruling practice that reduced taxable profit based on comparison to average profits of standalone comparable companies
The European Commission and EU Courts must assess whether Member State interpretations of national tax law provisions are consistent with the actual statutory wording when determining if tax practices constitute unlawful state aid
Belgium must apply Article 185(2)(b) of the Code des impôts sur les revenus 1992 (CIR 92) only in accordance with the arm's length principle as originally intended, not as an excess profit exemption mechanism