‘Battle at the Constitutional Court. Rulings uphold the CESE levy on natural gas companies and overturn a previous decision’

«"These two new rulings by the Constitutional Court keep the debate alive regarding the constitutionality of the CESE regulation applicable to the gas sector, with the divergence of views between the First and Third Sections continuing, now exacerbated by the failure of the Assembly of the Republic to elect the three missing judges. In this case, the president’s casting vote was required,” explains constitutional law expert José Luís Moreira da Silva in comments to ECO.
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“Now, we will have to wait for a decision from the full bench of judges on this divergence to find out whether the rule imposing the levy on the gas sector is unconstitutional or not, specifically for violating the principle of equality, as had previously been ruled in relation to a similar earlier rule,” adds Moreira da Silva.
But why are the judges now deciding differently? Last year’s ruling by the full bench of judges, which was binding on all and ruled the measure unconstitutional—leading to the CESE being removed from the legal system—concerned the application of the levy in the 2019 tax year. It so happens that, in the 2021 State Budget (OE2021), the Government reintroduced the same provision. And now the judges consider that the energy levy on the natural gas sector does not violate the Constitution. The disagreement lies mainly between the judges of the first section and those of the third, according to José Moreira da Silva.»