Case T-509/14: Judgment of the General Court of 29 May 2024 – Decal España v Commission (State aid - Aid granted by the Spanish authorities to certain economic interest groupings (EIGs) and their investors - Tax regime applicable to certain finance lease agreements for the purchase of ships (Spanish tax lease system) - Decision declaring the aid partly incompatible with the internal market and ordering its recovery in part - Disappearance in part of the subject matter of the dispute - No need to adjudicate in part - New aid - Recovery - Contractual clauses protecting the beneficiaries against the recovery of unlawful State aid incompatible with the internal market - Division of powers between the Commission and the national authorities)
Date: 2024-05-29
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Spain, State aid, control of State aid, hire purchase, reimbursement of aid, tax system, vessel








C_202404319EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/4319


15.7.2024






Judgment of the General Court of 29 May 2024 – Decal España v Commission


(Case T-509/14)
                (1)

(State aid - Aid granted by the Spanish authorities to certain economic interest groupings (EIGs) and their investors - Tax regime applicable to certain finance lease agreements for the purchase of ships (Spanish tax lease system) - Decision declaring the aid partly incompatible with the internal market and ordering its recovery in part - Disappearance in part of the subject matter of the dispute - No need to adjudicate in part - New aid - Recovery - Contractual clauses protecting the beneficiaries against the recovery of unlawful State aid incompatible with the internal market - Division of powers between the Commission and the national authorities)
(C/2024/4319)
Language of the case: Spanish

Parties


Applicant: Decal España, SA (Barcelona, Spain) (represented by: M.-J. Silva Sánchez, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: J. Carpi Badía and P. Němečková, acting as Agents, and by M. Segura Catalán, lawyer)

Re:

By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks the annulment of Commission Decision 2014/200/EU of 17 July 2013 on the State 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 (OJ 2014 L 114, p. 1).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Declares that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the action in so far as it is directed against Article 1 of Commission Decision 2014/200/EU of 17 July 2013 on the State 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 aid referred to in that decision from the economic interest groupings’ investors which benefitted from it;










2.


Dismisses the action as to the remainder;










3.


Orders each party to bear its own costs.






(1)  
            OJ C 292, 1.9.2014.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/4319/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)