L 23/14 Official Journal of the European Union 28.1.2004 COMMISSION DECISION of 24 June 2003 on the aid scheme implemented by Belgium — Tax ruling system for United States foreign sales corporations (notified under document number C(2003) 1868) (Only the French and Dutch texts are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2004/77EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (%), Whereas: I. PROCEDURE In 1997 the Ecofin Council adopted a Code of Conduct for business taxation (3) with the objective of tackling harmful tax competition; it subsequently established a Group to assess tax measures that fall within the scope of the Code. In line with the undertaking given in the Code, the Commission published in 1998 a notice on the application of the State aid rules to measures relating to direct business taxation (%) (hereinafter the Notice), stressing its determination to apply them rigorously and to respect the principle of equality of treatment. It was within this framework that the Commission undertook to examine or re-examine on a case-by-case basis, and in the light of the guidelines set out in the Notice, the tax arrangements in force in the Member States. () O] C 30, 8.2.2003, p. 21. () 0] C 2, 6.1.1998, p. 1. () O] C 384, 10.12.1998, p. 3. ) In this connection, the Commission, by letter dated 23 March 2001 (D[51238), asked the Belgian authorities to provide information on the tax ruling system for United States foreign sales corporations (FSCs) in Belgium. Belgium replied by letter dated 18 May 2001 (A[34107). By letter dated 12 April 2002 (SG 2002 D[229352), the Commission informed Belgium that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the Belgian tax ruling system for FSCs. By letter dated 27 May 2002 (A/33959), Belgium submitted its observations. The Commission decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments (%) No comments were received. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE United States regime for FSCs A brief description of United States regime for FSCs is necessary in order to understand the operation of the tax ruling system for FSCs in Belgium. As background, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has, in a number of rulings, found that the legislation on FSCs provided exporting firms in the United States with a prohibited tax incentive. To be more precise, the (*) See footnote 1.