24.11.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities L 297/13 II (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 21 April 1999 on the treatment by the Netherlands tax authorities of a technolease agreement between Philips and Rabobank (notified under document number C(1999) 1122) (Only the Dutch text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2000/735/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 93(2), second paragraph, Having requested the parties concerned to submit their comments pursuant to those Articles, Whereas: I. PROCEDURES By means of press articles dated January/February 1997 mentioning that the Netherlands tax authorities had accepted a technolease agreement between Philips and Rabobank that would impose a large but unspecified burden on the State budget, the Commission was informed that the Netherlands may have been granting aid to Philips and/or Rabobank within the framework of a technolease agreement. By letter of 24 April 1997, the Commission informed the Netherlands that the procedure provided for in Article 93(2) of the EC Treaty had been initiated in respect of the aid that may have been granted in the form of a tax advantage within the framework of an agreement on sale-leaseback of know-how between Philips and Rabobank (hereafter the technolease agreement). The Commission has not received any comments from other Member States or third parties concerned. II. DESCRIPTION In 1992, Philips sold a defined quantity of its know-how with a value on its balance sheet of NLG 2 200 million to its subsidiary Electrologica. In return Philips received the shares of Electrolo- gica and provided a loan at an annual interest rate of 7 %. Electrologica then leased the know-how to Philips and in turn was compensated by the royalties it received from Philips.