Apple Inc. deposited the first tranche of €1.5 billion into a Dublin escrow account set up to hold about €13 billion in disputed taxes.
The payment was confirmed by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe on behalf of the Irish government in a May 18 statement.
This is the first of a series of payments with the expectation that the remaining tranches will be submitted during the second and third quarters, Donohoe added.
The tech giant is returning the alleged state aid as part of its efforts to comply with a European Commission tax order. The Irish government, however, has filed an appeal with the European courts and said it does not accept the commission's analysis of the Apple state aid ruling.
