Apple appeal against EU tax demand would break new ground

People wait outside the Apple store in Covent Garden in London August 30, 2016. The European Commission's demand for Apple to pay Ireland some 13 billion euros in back taxes has put the country in the strange position of refusing the windfall for fear of scaring away valuable investment. Rather than welcoming the cash -- equivalent to around five percent of its gross domestic product -- the government has vowed to appeal the ruling, fearing an ever greatest cost to its economy and jobs. / AFP PHOTO / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS

LONDON: Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he will appeal the European Commission's ruling that his company received an unlawful €13bil (RM59.53bil) subsidy when Ireland gave it preferential tax deals and that he was confident the decision would be reversed. 

But over a dozen lawyers, including three advising companies on appeals, told Reuters it was impossible to predict how EU courts would rule in an area that has not been tested before.