February 20, 2023 14:23 
The Bucharest Court of Appeals has recently decided to refer several questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of the EU law to clarify the lawfulness of the electrical energy production surcharge imposed by Law 259/2021. The request came from a company operating in the renewable energy sector, represented by Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP). Additionally, the Bucharest Court of Appeals referred to the Constitutional Court an objection of unlawfulness relating to the same legal provisions on the surcharge imposed for electrical energy production.
Important clarifications are awaited from the two courts in terms of the forms of discrimination created by Law 259/2021 and the lack of predictability and fiscal equity generated by this tax, which affects competition on the energy market, discouraging investment in green energy and even endangering Romania’s commitments to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
“This is a major decision, which we are eager and thrilled to honor in the following phases conducted before the Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. This decision of the general jurisdiction court reflects the efforts, integrated approach and collaboration of our multidisciplinary team, which combines the experience, technical skills and perspective of lawyers specializing in dispute resolution, energy and competition law and of the NNDKP tax consultants”, declared Daniela Gramaticescu, Partner.
The NNDKP team who represented the client in this dispute included Ana Diculescu Șova (Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution practice), Daniela Gramaticescu (Partner, Dispute Resolution), Alexandru Lăcureanu (Senior Associate, Dispute Resolution), Gabriela Cacerea (Partner, Energy and Natural Resources), Anca Diaconu (Partner, Competition, State Aid and EU Law) and Silviu Bădescu (Partner, NNDKP Tax Advisory Services).
