Statement - Fighting Tax Avoidance: Commissioner Moscovici welcomes final adoption of international tax reform package

Germany also stated that, during consultations on the draft law introducing the ecological tax reform, the issue had arisen of reducing the burden on agricultural and forestry undertakings which heated their greenhouses or covered areas for the purpose of cultivating plants because those undertakings would have been affected significantly by higher taxation due to their energy-intensive operations.

The State aid scheme applied or intended to be applied by Germany to agricultural and forestry undertakings for heating greenhouses or covered areas for crop production under the Law amending the Mineral Oil Tax Law, the Law on the further development of the ecological tax reform and the Guidelines Implementation Law is incompatible with the common market with respect to the part of the reduction of the tax, which goes beyond the original rate of EUR 40,90/1 000 l for heating fuel, of EUR 1,87/MWh for natural gas, and of EUR 25,56/1 000 kg for liquid fuel.

The State aid scheme applied or intended to be applied by Germany to agricultural and forestry undertakings for heating greenhouses or covered areas for crop production under the Law amending the Mineral Oil Tax Law, the Law on the further development of the ecological tax reform and the Guidelines Implementation Law is compatible with the common market in all other respects.

In all other respects, the State aid which the Federal Republic of Germany has granted to agricultural and forestry undertakings for heating greenhouses or covered areas for crop production under the Law amending the Mineral Oil Tax Law and the Law on the further development of the ecological tax reform or which it intends to grant to them under the Guidelines Implementation Law, is hereby deemed to be compatible with the common market,

The State aid granted to agricultural and forestry undertakings for heating greenhouses or covered areas for crop production under the Law amending the Mineral Oil Tax Law and the Law on the further development of the ecological tax reform, unlawfully put into effect by the Federal Republic of Germany in breach of Article 88(3) of the Treaty, or which it intends to grant to them under the Guidelines Implementation Law, is hereby deemed to be incompatible with the common market to the extent mentioned in points 75 to 77 of the present decision, and must be recovered for the relevant period, where granted.