Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Apple’s old case has been dismantled again. The European Union Court said there was a mistake, aka error, when determining the decision in favor of Apple in a tax case worth 13 billion euros or around Rp. 217 trillion.

The tax case against Apple is part of a crackdown by European Union Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager against deals between multinational companies and EU countries.

According to him, regulators in the European Union region have provided unfair state assistance and, quoted from ReutersFriday (10/11/2023).

In 2016, the European Commission said Apple was taking advantage of two Irish tax decisions over two decades. The tax that would have been Apple’s responsibility was reduced to as low as 0.005% in 2014.

The European Union’s General Court in 2020 upheld Apple’s lawsuit, saying regulators had not met the legal standard to show that the Cupertino giant enjoyed an unfair advantage.

However, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) disagrees. He said that the CJEU judges should set aside the General Court’s decision and refer the case back to the lower court.

“The General Court’s ruling in the tax case that Ireland adopted against Apple must be set aside,” he said.

He said the General Court made a series of legal errors and also failed to provide a correct assessment of the substance and consequences of Apple’s tax case. In this way, this decision is detrimental to taxation.

“Therefore, it is important for the General Court to conduct a new assessment,” he said.

The CJEU, which will convene a new judiciary in the coming months, will make four to five recommendations.

“We thank the court for its time and continued consideration in this case. The General Court’s decision is very clear that Apple received no selective advantage and no state aid, and we believe it should be upheld,” an Apple spokesperson said.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(fab/fab)