(Telecompaper) The European Commission has ordered Ireland to recover EUR 13 billion in taxes from Apple, after concluding that the country gave the company an unfair tax advantage over other businesses. The advance tax rulings granted by the Irish government for Apple's European headquarters in the country helped Apple lower its tax rate on European profits to as little as 0.005 percent in 2014. The Commission's investigation, started in June 2014, covers the period going back to 1991. The selective tax treatment of Apple in Ireland was found to be illegal under EU state aid rules. Ireland has said it plans to appeal the decision.