Apple has been ordered by Europe’s highest court to pay Ireland €13bn (£11bn; $14bn) in back taxes, bringing an eight-year dispute to a close.

The European Commission had accused Ireland in 2016 of providing Apple with unlawful tax breaks, though Ireland repeatedly contested the necessity for payment.

The Irish government said it would abide by the court’s ruling.

Apple expressed disappointment with the outcome, accusing the European Commission of "attempting to retroactively alter the rules."

In a separate ruling on Tuesday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) also concluded a long-standing legal battle with Google, ordering the company to pay €2.4bn (£2bn) for abusing its market dominance.

EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager praised both decisions. "Today is a huge victory for European citizens and tax fairness," she stated.

Regarding Apple, the ECJ concluded: "The Court of Justice offers its final decision on the matter and upholds the 2016 European Commission ruling: Ireland granted illegal state aid to Apple, which Ireland must now recover."

The decision marked the end of a prolonged legal saga.

The original case spanned the years 1991 to 2014, focusing on how profits from two Apple subsidiaries in Ireland were treated for tax purposes.

These tax arrangements were deemed unfair as other companies were unable to benefit in the same way.

The ruling came at a time when the Commission was attempting to crack down on multinational corporations that were allegedly using creative accounting methods to minimize their tax liabilities.

Initially, Ireland successfully appealed the judgment in 2020 when the lower court of the ECJ overturned it.

However, the higher court annulled that ruling, citing legal misinterpretations.

Apple responded: “This case has always been about which government collects the taxes, not the amount itself. We fully pay all taxes owed in every region where we operate, and there has never been a special arrangement.

"The European Commission now seeks to retroactively alter the rules while disregarding the fact that, under international tax laws, our earnings were already taxed in the U.S."

"We are disheartened by this decision, especially since the General Court previously reviewed and dismissed this case on its merits," Apple added.

The unfavorable judgment for Apple coincides with the launch of their latest iPhone 16 lineup.

The ECJ's ruling now compels Ireland to recover the unpaid taxes from Apple – a move Dublin has long tried to avoid through legal maneuvers.

The Irish government has maintained that Apple shouldn’t be required to pay the back taxes, claiming losing that revenue was a small price to pay for fostering an environment conducive to attracting major corporations.

Ireland, which has one of the EU’s lowest corporation tax rates, serves as Apple's base for operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

While national governments still have control over corporate tax rates, and the EU has limited authority in this area, the bloc does possess significant powers when it comes to regulating state aid. In this instance, the Commission argued that Ireland’s exceptionally low taxes for Apple constituted an inappropriate subsidy.

This ruling represents a major triumph for the European Commission in its quest to prevent large firms from manipulating tax laws.

Though the Irish government described the Apple issue as now being of “historical relevance,” it confirmed the process of recovering the funds would commence shortly.

Tove Maria Ryding of the European Network on Debt and Development, a coalition of trade unions and non-governmental organisations, welcomed the decision but emphasized that "our tax problem is larger than just Apple."

She said the case highlighted tax issues spanning more than two decades and served as a “prime example of the current dysfunctional corporate tax system."

“We need urgent and comprehensive reform that delivers a fair, transparent, and effective tax regime,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, Europe’s highest court also upheld that Google must pay a €2.4bn fine for abusing its dominance in the online shopping comparison market.

The tech giant had contested the fine, which was first imposed by the European Commission in 2017.

Google said it was disappointed by the ruling, noting it had implemented changes following the Commission’s original decision in 2017.

At the time, the fine was the largest ever imposed by the Commission, though a subsequent €4.3bn penalty in 2018 for promoting its own Android apps unfairly eclipsed this amount.