The EU Commission has until late September to appeal the decision of the General Court of the European Union in the Apple case. An appeal can only be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union on a point of law, which may be difficult given that the outcome was largely determined on facts.

The Commission has yet to decide on whether it will appeal the decision of the General Court. The Apple funds continue to remain in an escrow account. Apple was required to pay €14.3 billion to an escrow account following the decision of the Commission. The net asset value of these funds was €14.2 billion at the end of 2019.

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said:

“The escrow fund cannot be accessed until the legal proceedings are fully completed. Therefore, if an appeal is made, the fund cannot be dissolved until that legal action concludes. As the General Court ruled against the Commission, an appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union is open to the Commission at this stage.”

Further information can be found in the Irish Examiner. A summary of the General Courts decision in the Apple case was included in the August tax.point tax case digest.