Krogerus successfully advises the Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation on its state aid complaint concerning the sweets tax

Krogerus advised the Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation (FDIF) on its complaint to the European Commission concerning the Finnish excise tax on sweets, ice cream and soft drinks.

The FDIF argued that the sweets tax distorted competition and amounted to illegal state aid.

The Commission consequently stated that the sweets tax is unacceptable under the European Union state aid rules. The tax does not treat similar products neutrally with respect to its objective and confers a selective tax advantage, which amounts to state aid to non-taxable products.

Following discussions with the Commission, the Finnish Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy decided, on 29 September, to abolish the excise tax on sweets and ice cream in 2017.

The excise tax on soft drinks will remain in force, but changes are anticipated in its scope of application.

The Krogerus team was led by partner Leena Lindberg. She was assisted by associates Tuulia Tanskanen and Simo Autio.