The Court of Justice of the European Union's has given its final Landmark Decision on the Fiat Finance & Trade Ltd State Aid Investigation
In a significant development on 8 November 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its final ruling on two appeals, namely C-885/19 P and C-898/19P. These appeals pertain to the formal State aid investigation initiated by the European Commission in October 2015, which concerned an Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) or tax ruling granted to Fiat Finance & Trade Ltd (FFT).
The CJEU has overturned the European Commission's decision, thereby setting aside the finding that FFT had received State aid. This judgment carries substantial significance as it marks the first instance of the European Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) addressing the substantive arguments in the recent State aid cases involving transfer pricing rulings. Consequently, the implications of this ruling on other ongoing State aid cases and investigations relating to tax measures remain to be observed.