EN Official Journal of the European Union C 346/14

STATE AID — SPAIN

State aid C 45/07 (ex NN 51/07) — Tax amortisation of financial goodwill for foreign shareholding acquisitions

(Articles 107 to 109 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2011/C 346/07

By letter dated 11 October 2011, the Commission informed Spain of a corrigendum to Decision C(2010) 9566 final of 12 January 2011 (1), as amended by Decision C(2011) 1257 final of 3 March 2011.

TEXT OF THE LETTER

‘As noted by the Spanish authorities in their letter of 26 July 2011, Decision C(2010) 9566 final of 12 January 2011, as amended by Decision C(2011) 1257 final of 3 March 2011, contains an error, since Article 4(4) does not state with precision the findings of the Decision. Article 4(4) refers solely to Article 1(2), where it should make reference to Article 1(2), (3), (4) and (5).

Consequently, the Commission has decided to change the text of the Decision as follows:

“Spain shall cancel any outstanding tax reduction provided under the scheme referred to in Article 1(1) with effect from the date of adoption of this Decision, except for the reduction attached to rights in foreign companies fulfilling the conditions laid down in Article 1(2), (3), (4) or (5).”

In addition, the Commission has acknowledged that Decision C(2010) 9566 final of 12 January 2011, as amended by Decision C(2011) 1257 final of 3 March 2011, contains other clerical and translation errors. While paragraph 190 clearly lays down that a distinction should be drawn between two periods: (a) the period starting from the entry into force of the measure on 1 January 2002 until the date of publication of the opening Decision in the Official Journal on 21 December 2007; and (b) the period following the publication of the opening Decision in the Official Journal, the wording of paragraphs 193, 197, 202, 203 and 210 contains clerical and translation errors with respect to the details of that distinction. Consequently, Article 1(2), (3), (4) and (5) also contain clerical and translation errors.

Accordingly, the Commission has decided to correct these mistakes as follows:

(a) In paragraph 193 the words “before the date of publication (2) in the Official Journal of the European Union” should be replaced by “no later than the date of publication (3) in the Official Journal of the European Union”;

(b) In paragraph 197 the words “irrespective of the date on which the transaction took place before the adoption of this Decision” should be replaced by “provided that the transaction took place no later than the date of adoption of this Decision”;

(c) In paragraph 202 the words “by 21 December 2007” should be replaced by “on 21 December 2007”. Furthermore, the words “by 21 December 2008” should be replaced by “on 21 December 2008”.

(d) In paragraph 203 the words “unless, firstly, an irrevocable obligation was entered into before 21 December 2007 (legitimate expectations arising from Commission statements to Members of the European Parliament) or before the date of publication of this Decision” should be replaced by “unless, firstly, an irrevocable obligation was entered into no later than 21 December 2007 (legitimate expectations arising from Commission statements to Members of the European Parliament) or the date of publication of this Decision”; the words “and, thirdly, the operation had been notified before 21 December 2007 (legitimate expectations arising from Commission statements to Members of the European Parliament) or before the publication of this Decision” should also be replaced by “and, thirdly, the operation had been notified no later than 21 December 2007 (legitimate expectations arising from Commission statements to Members of the European Parliament) or the date of publication of this Decision”;

(e) In paragraph 210 the words “before the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of the Commission Decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure” should be replaced by “on the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of the Commission Decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure”; the words “before 21 December 2007” should be replaced (in two instances) by “no later than 21 December 2007”; and the words “before the publication of this Decision” should be replaced by “no later than the date of publication of this Decision”.

Owing to the above corrections, the Commission has decided to correct the errors included in Article 1(2), (3), (4) and (5) as follows:

In Article 1(2) the words “by 21 December 2007” should be replaced by “no later than 21 December 2007”.

In Article 1(3) the words “before 21 December 2007” should be replaced (in two instances) by “no later than 21 December 2007”.

In Article 1(4) the words “by the date of publication of this Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union” should be replaced by “no later than the date of publication of this Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union”;

In Article 1(5) the words “before this Decision is published in the Official Journal of the European Union” should be replaced (in two instances) by “no later than the date when this Decision is published in the Official Journal of the European Union”.

These errors do not alter the findings of Decision C(2010) 9566 final, as amended by Decision C(2011) 1257 final.

For this reason, the Commission has decided to correct the text of Decision C(2010) 9566 final, as amended by Decision C(2011) 1257 final.

This corrigendum shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.’

(1) OJ L 135, 21.5.2011.

(2) OJ C 311, 21.12.2007, p. 21.

(3) See footnote 2.