Belgium's Electrabel, a unit of French utility GDF Suez (GSZ.FR), has asked Belgium's constitutional court to annul a tax imposed on nuclear power producers in the country that came to EUR250 million in 2008, a spokeswoman for Electrabel confirmed Monday.
Electrabel filed the case "last week," the spokeswoman said, declining to be more specific. She wasn't able to say how long the case might go on for. The company, Belgium's dominant generator of nuclear power, has paid its share of the tax, she confirmed.
Electrabel had warned back in October that it would contest the tax, claiming it would be "discriminatory" since it would only affect Belgian nuclear generators.
"Furthermore, and still setting aside the fact that the amount is out of proportion, this measure conflicts with the general principle of lawful expectations, since it is at odds with the general framework that was established by the (Belgian) state and the group (Electrabel) in the commitments made in the autumn of 2006," Electrabel said, in a statement issued in October before Belgian lawmakers approved the tax.
At 1116 GMT, shares of GDF Suez were up 1.2% at EUR26.89, one of only a handful of gainers on the CAC 40 index.
Any reimbursal of funds would be beneficial to GDF Suez.