The EU General Court overturns the Commission’s finding that Belgium granted unlawful State aid through advance tax rulings (Magnetrol International)

Many Tax Rulings Do Not Make a Single Aid Scheme* The autonomy that Member States enjoy in the field of direct taxation must be exercised in compliance with EU State aid law. A State aid measure is considered to be a “scheme” when (a) no further implementing acts are necessary, (b) the granting authority has no discretion in how the measure is applied and (c) the measure defines the eligible beneficiaries. Administrative discretion turns an aid measure into “individual aid”. Introduction On 14 February 2019, the General Court appeared to deal a blow to the Commission’s attempts to rein in unfair tax competition. Its judgment in joint cases T‑131/16, Belgium v European Commission and T‑263/16, Magnetrol International v European Commission, annulled Commission decision 2016/1699 [1].