[9] In July 2020, the European General Court struck down EU tax decision as illegal, ruling in favor of Apple.

[12] On 9 January 2015, Apple informed the Commission[a] that it closed its hybrid–Double Irish, base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) tool.

Holyhill is considered a low-technology facility, building iMacs to order by hand, and in this regard is more akin to a global logistics hub for Apple (albeit located on the island of Ireland).

[34] It is this "branch structure" the EU Commission alleged was illegal State aid, as it was not offered to other multinationals in Ireland, which had used the traditional "two separate companies" version of the Double Irish BEPS tool.

The EU Commission contest IRL1's actions made ASI Irish, and the functions of IRL1 over-rode the Bermuda Board meetings in deciding the "managed and controlled" test.

[36] The investigation aimed to examine whether Apple used offshore structures, in conjunction with arrangements, to shift profits from the US to Ireland.

[44] The Commissioners noted concerns that discretion in transfer pricing rules had been used to give Apple selective advantage.

[48] The EU Commission's full 130-page report on its State aid findings, including partially redacted information on Apple's Irish business (e.g. profits, employees, Board minutes etc.

[49] According to PwC, the full report by the European Commission contained very detailed analysis of the transfer pricing methodology used by Apple.

Margrethe Vestager appealed to individual EU taxing authorities to assess this aspect of Apple's State aid case for themselves, on a case-by-case basis.

If other countries were to require Apple to pay more tax on profits of the two companies over the same period under their national taxation rules, this would reduce the amount to be recovered by Ireland.On 7 September 2016, the Irish State secured a majority in Dáil Éireann to reject payment of the back-taxes,[53] which including penalties could reach €20 billion,[10] or 10% of 2014 Irish GDP.

[53][56] In November 2016, the Irish government also formally notified the EU Commission it would appeal and reject any claim to the €13 billion "windfall".

[57][58] In August 2018, it was reported that the appeal would begin before the end of 2018, but could take over 5 years,[59] and that Apple had begun to lodge the €13 billion into an escrow account during Q2 2018.

[62] In May 2019, the Irish Public Accounts Committee was told by officials from the Department of Finance that defending the Apple case (i.e. to prevent the payment of the fine to Ireland), had cost the Irish state €7.1 million in mostly legal fees, and that the final case may take a decade to reach a final verdict.

This is because the lower court did not correctly assess "the substance and consequences of certain methodological errors that, according to the Commission decision, vitiated the tax rulings", according to Pitruzzella.

[21] The European Commission found that corporate tax rates as low as 0.005% paid by the tech giant represented an unlawful subsidy.

[4] The EU Commission's findings cover the period from 2004 to end 2014, and its report notes that Apple had informed it at the start of 2015 that the controversial hybrid–Double Irish BEPS tool, ASI, had been closed down; which enabled the commission to complete its State aid report, and finalise the recovery order of €13 billion.

[2] In January 2018, economist Seamus Coffey, Chairman of the State's Irish Fiscal Advisory Council,[68] and author of the State's 2017 Review of Ireland's Corporation Tax Code,[69][70] showed Apple restructured ASI into another Irish IP–based BEPS tool, the Capital Allowances for Intangible Assets ("CAIA"), in Q1 2015.

[74][75][76][77] If the Irish Revenue waived Section 291A(c) for Apple's 2015 restructuring, it could result in a further EU Commission State Aid investigation.

In January 2018, in a series of articles in The Sunday Business Post, Mr Coffey estimated that since the 2015 restructuring, Apple has avoided Irish corporate taxes totalling circa at €2.5–3bn per annum (at the 12.5% rate).

[11][78] Mr Coffey calculated the potential second EU Apple State aid recovery order for the 2015–2018 (inclusive) period, would therefore reach circa €10bn, excluding any interest penalties.

[73] In November 2017, it was reported that the EU Commission had already asked for details on Apple's Irish structure post its January 2015 ruling.

[15] In February 2019, Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy discussed Apple's use of the CAIA Irish BEPS tool with Margrethe Vestager.

[83] After 29 August 2016 ruling, the EU Commission followed up on 31 August to counter statements from the Irish Government that Ireland would have to use the proceeds of any Apple recovery to pay down public sector debt (in line with agreed EU budgetary rules), and to clarify that Ireland could allocate the money in whichever way the Irish Government lawfully saw fit.

[53][56] The role of the Irish media in "framing" the debate around the ethical issues of helping global multinational corporations avoid taxes has been noted.