The Austrian Supreme Administrative Court makes the entry into force of a national law introducing a State aid scheme contingent on approval by the EU Commission (Dilly’s Wellnesshotel)

Background & Facts of the case As a preliminary to the discussion of the case, it is useful to highlight the historical development of the material scope of the law at issue in the proceedings before the public courts, the Energieabgabenvergütungsgesetz (Law on the rebate of energy taxes; the “EAVG”). [1] According to the original version of the law of 1996, only companies whose focus was on the production of physical goods were entitled to a rebate on the taxes they paid on their energy consumption. In its judgment in case Adria-Wien Pipeline, [2] the CJEU qualified the restriction to production companies as State aid within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU. After the judgment, the Austrian legislator amended the law, so that the energy tax rebate was available to all companies,