The EC announced the in-depth investigations into the supermarket oversight fee and health-care contribution payable by tobacco companies in July.

The EC said at the time that it would further examine whether the two recent Hungarian measures “with steeply progressive rate structures” are in line with EU rules on state aid and prohibited Hungary from applying the progressive rates until it concludes the assessment.

“At this stage, the Commission has concerns in both cases that the progressivity of the rates based on turnover provides companies with a low turnover a selective advantage over their competitors, in breach of EU state aid rules."

The supermarket oversight fee ranges from 0.1% of turnover for stores with lower revenue up to 6% for those with higher sales.

“While a fee based on turnover does not in itself raise state aid issues, the Commission considers at this stage that the progressivity of the fee rates selectively favours companies with a low turnover and gives them an unfair competitive advantage over others,” the EC said, noting that new rules governing the fee came into force from the start of 2015 and the first payments are due at the end of July.

The rate for the healthcare contribution by tobacco companies range from 0.2% to 4.5% of turnover, also depending on the scale of revenue.

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