Answer given by Executive Vice-President Vestager on behalf of the European Commission

24.2.2022

On 18 December 2017, the Commission opened a formal investigation into the Netherlands’ tax treatment of Inter IKEA. The investigation concerns two tax rulings — from 2006 and 2011. The Commission has concerns that those rulings may have unduly lowered Inter IKEA’s tax burden in the Netherlands, in breach of state aid rules.

On 30 April 2020, the Commission extended its investigation.

The Commission is obliged to conduct a diligent and impartial examination, so that it has at its disposal, when concluding its formal investigation, the most complete and reliable information possible. Since the investigation is still ongoing, the Commission cannot provide a timeline for the conclusion of the investigation or anticipate its outcome.

The Commission notes, first, that the opening of a formal investigation gives the Member State involved and interested third parties the opportunity to submit comments. Opening a formal investigation does not prejudge the outcome thereof. Second, no penalties are imposed on undertakings in the field of state aid at the conclusion of the formal investigation procedure. If the Commission concludes — after its formal investigation — that a Member State has granted incompatible state aid, it shall oblige the Member State in question to adopt all necessary measures to recover that state aid from the beneficiary. The purpose of that recovery is to re-establish the situation that existed on the market prior to the granting of the state aid.