Joined Cases C-649/20 P, C-658/20 P and C-662/20 P: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 2 February 2023 — Kingdom of Spain (C-649/20 P), Lico Leasing SA, Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión SA (C-658/20 P), Caixabank SA and Others (C-662/20 P) v European Commission (Appeal — State aid — Article 107(1) TFEU — Tax regime applicable to certain finance lease agreements for the purchase of ships (Spanish tax lease system) — Condition relating to selectivity — Obligation to state reasons — Principle of the protection of legitimate expectations — Principle of legal certainty — Recovery of the aid)
Date: 2023-02-02
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Economic Interest Grouping, State aid, control of State aid, hire purchase, principle of legal certainty, reimbursement of aid, tax law, tax system, vessel








C_2023104EN.01000401.xml










20.3.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 104/4






Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 2 February 2023 — Kingdom of Spain (C-649/20 P), Lico Leasing SA, Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión SA (C-658/20 P), Caixabank SA and Others (C-662/20 P) v European Commission
(Joined Cases C-649/20 P, C-658/20 P and C-662/20 P) (1)

(Appeal - State aid - Article 107(1) TFEU - Tax regime applicable to certain finance lease agreements for the purchase of ships (Spanish tax lease system) - Condition relating to selectivity - Obligation to state reasons - Principle of the protection of legitimate expectations - Principle of legal certainty - Recovery of the aid)
(2023/C 104/04)
Language of the case: Spanish

Parties


Appellants: Kingdom of Spain (represented by: S. S. Centeno Huerta, A. Gavela Llopis, I. Herranz Elizalde and S. Jiménez García, acting as Agents) (C-649/20 P), Lico Leasing SA, Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión SA (represented by: J.M. Rodríguez Cárcamo and A. Sánchez, abogados) (C-658/20 P), Caixabank SA, Asociación Española de Banca, Unicaja Banco SA, Liberbank SA, Banco de Sabadell SA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Banco Santander SA, Santander Investment SA, Naviera Séneca AIE, Industria de Diseño Textil SA (Inditex), Naviera Nebulosa de Omega AIE, Abanca Corporación Bancaria SA, Ibercaja Banco SA, Naviera Bósforo AIE, Joyería Tous SA, Corporación Alimentaria Guissona SA, Naviera Muriola AIE, Poal Investments XXI SL, Poal Investments XXII SL, Naviera Cabo Vilaboa C-1658 AIE, Naviera Cabo Domaio C-1659 AIE, Caamaño Sistemas Metálicos SL, Blumaq SA, Grupo Ibérica de Congelados SA, RNB SL, Inversiones Antaviana SL, Banco de Albacete SA, Bodegas Muga SL, Aluminios Cortizo SAL (represented by: E. Abad Valdenebro, J.L. Buendía Sierra, R. Calvo Salinero and A. Lamadrid de Pablo, abogados) (C-662/20 P)

Other party to the proceedings: European Commission (represented by: J. Carpi Badía, V. Di Bucci, É. Gippini Fournier and P. Němečková, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the appellants (C-662/20 P): Decal España SA (represented by: M.-J. Silva Sánchez, abogado)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Sets aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 23 September 2020, Spain and Others v Commission (T-515/13 RENV and T-719/13 RENV, EU:T:2020:434) to the extent that, by that judgment, the General Court dismissed the actions is so far as they sought annulment of Article 1 of Commission Decision 2014/200/EU of 17 July 2013 on the aid scheme SA.21233 C/11 (ex NN/11, ex CP 137/06) implemented by Spain — Tax scheme applicable to certain finance lease agreements, also known as the ‘Spanish Tax Lease System’, inasmuch as it designates the economic interest groupings and their investors as the sole recipients of the aid referred to in that decision, and Article 4(1) of that decision, inasmuch as it orders the Kingdom of Spain to recover in full the amount of the aid referred to in that decision from the economic interest groupings’ investors which benefited from it;










2.


Dismisses the appeals as to the remainder;










3.


Annuls Article 1 of Decision 2014/200 inasmuch as it designates the economic interest groupings and their investors as the sole recipients of the aid referred to in that decision;










4.


Annuls Article 4(1) of that decision inasmuch as it orders the Kingdom of Spain to recover in full the amount of the aid referred to in that decision from the investors of the economic interest groupings which benefited from it;










5.


Orders the Kingdom of Spain, Lico Leasing SA, Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión SA, Caixabank SA, Asociación Española de Banca, Unicaja Banco SA, Liberbank SA, Banco de Sabadell SA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Banco Santander SA, Santander Investment SA, Naviera Séneca AIE, Industria de Diseño Textil SA (Inditex), Naviera Nebulosa de Omega AIE, Abanca Corporación Bancaria SA, Ibercaja Banco SA, Naviera Bósforo AIE, Joyería Tous SA, Corporación Alimentaria Guissona SA, Naviera Muriola AIE, Poal Investments XXI SL, Poal Investments XXII SL, Naviera Cabo Vilaboa C-1658 AIE, Naviera Cabo Domaio C-1659 AIE, Caamaño Sistemas Metálicos SL, Blumaq SA, Grupo Ibérica de Congelados SA, RNB SL, Inversiones Antaviana SL, Banco de Albacete SA, Bodegas Muga SL and Aluminios Cortizo SAU to bear all their own costs and to pay three quarters of the costs incurred by the European Commission both at first instance and in connection with the appeals in Case C-128/16 and Joined Cases C-649/20 P, C-658/20 P and C-662/20 P;










6.


Orders Decal España SA to bear its own costs;










7.


Orders the European Commission to bear one quarter of the costs it has incurred both at first instance and in connection with the appeals in Case C-128/16 and Joined Cases C-649/20 P, C-658/20 P and C-662/20 P.






(1)  
            OJ C 110, 29.3.2021.