Apple just lost a decadelong EU tax case. Now it must pay $14 billion.

• The EU's top court ruled Apple must pay over €13 billion in back taxes.
• The European Court of Justice's decision ends a decadelong legal battle with the tech giant.
• EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager argued Apple received unfair tax breaks from Ireland.

The EU's top court just dealt Apple a major blow, ruling that the tech giant must pay more than €13 billion (about $14 billion) in back taxes.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday that Apple must pay the back taxes to the Irish government, ending a decadelong legal battle.

"Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover," the ECJ said in a press release.

The European Commission started investigating Apple's tax payments in Ireland in 2014. By 2016, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said it found that Apple benefited from unfair tax breaks from the Irish government between 1991 and 2014 by paying a much lower rate than other companies.

The EU Commission said in 2016 that Apple enjoyed a corporate tax rate as low as 0.005% in 2014, which had declined from 1% in 2003.

Apple chief Tim Cook told The Irish Independent in 2016 that the tax breaks claims were "political crap" and that Apple and Ireland had "played by the rules."

Apple and Ireland then appealed the decision in 2019, and the EU General Court ruled in favor of the iPhone maker in 2020. The ECJ said it "sets aside" the lower court's ruling and gave its final judgment on the matter.

It's not the first time this year that Apple has been caught in the crosshairs of the EU.

The company was hit with a fine of about $1.95 billion in March by the European Commission, finding it abused its market dominance by restricting app developers from informing users about other cheaper music services. Apple, which is now worth more than $3.3 trillion, said at the time that it plans to appeal the decision.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.