natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Ligeledes har NRIC regelmæssigt sendt breve, herunder en notars meddelelse [12], til BDZ Holding med krav om betaling af udestående forpligtelser og betaling af renter på de forfaldne forpligtelser [13].
Due to the lack of resources, only essential (either routine or emergency) repairs have been carried out and major repairs have been postponed.
Pr. september 2016 andrager det skyldige rentebeløb 23,3 mio. BGN (12 mio. EUR).
94 % of passenger coaches are older than 15 years and 90 % of freight wagons are older than 29 years.
Bulgarien hævder, at NRIC handlede som en markedsøkonomisk kreditor, eftersom det var mere økonomisk fornuftigt at inddrive udestående forpligtelser, som begge parter anerkendte, end at indgive en konkursbegæring og risikere, at skyldnerens virksomhed ophørte.
90 % of diesel multiple units and 45 % of electric multiple units are older than 30 years.
Bulgarien anførte, at NRIC ville skulle bære omkostningerne ved en retssag i form af en stempelafgift på 4 % af det krævede beløb.
The productivity of the rolling stock and the locomotives that belong to the company are considerably lower than the Union average.
Hvis der var blevet anlagt sag, ville NRIC desuden ikke have kunnet få sit krav indfriet fuldt ud, fordi BDZ Holding og dets datterselskaber ville have skullet indfri alle deres forpligtelser, uden at en bestemt kreditor ville have været privilegeret.
The limited repairs have resulted in a steady deterioration of rail services and the cancellation of trains.
Eftersom BDZ Holding og dets datterselskaber er NRIC's største kunder, jf. det forhold at 77 % af NRIC's indtægter kunne tilregnes BDZ Holding og dets datterselskaber i 2015, ville BDZ Holdings konkurs ifølge Bulgarien have fået negative følger for NRIC's rentabilitet og evne til i tilstrækkelig grad at vedligeholde det nationale jernbanenet.
Bulgaria also pointed out that BDZ Holding was threatened by coercive recovery action such as the sale of its assets or suspension of its bank accounts by the international creditors after the High Court of Justice in London ordered the payment of their claims.
NRIC's gæld til BDZ Holding
Overview of BDZ Holding's debts to NRIC
NRIC skyldte BDZ Holding penge for tjenesteydelser, der bl.a. omfattede gratis og nedsatte rejsekort og billetter til NRIC's medarbejdere og deres familie, leje af udendørs og indendørs faciliteter og lokaler, som var BDZ Holdings ejendom, levering af trækkraft, transport af varer ad jernbane, omladning og løbende vedligeholdelse af arbejdstog.
In response to the invitation in the Opening Decision to provide information as to whether and how NRIC had enforced past debts and intended to recover or enforce outstanding debts, Bulgaria asserted that BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries had been and were still serving their debts towards NRIC on a regular basis.
Bulgarien anførte, at NRIC i perioden 2008-2011 havde pådraget sig gæld til BDZ Holding og dets datterselskaber for leverede tjenesteydelser på i alt 45532415 BGN (23,8 mio. EUR) som vist i Tabel 3.
To support its contention, Bulgaria provided information on the development of the amounts due by BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries to NRIC for infrastructure charges, electricity supply and other accompanying services, as calculated on the basis of NRIC's schedule of charges which was applied to all railway operators.
Pr. august 2016 var NRIC's udestående gæld til BDZ Holding 1094367 BGN (0,6 mio. EUR).
Bulgaria noted that, after the Opening Decision, between November 2011 and August 2016, BDZ Holding has paid a total amount of BGN 503,2 million (EUR 257 million) to NRIC.
Tabel 3
The payment was made by bank transfers, offsetting of NRIC's debts towards BDZ Holding and debt-to-asset swaps.
NRIC's gæld til BDZ Holding 2008-2011
Actions taken by NRIC to enforce and/or recover debts from BDZ Holding
Konvertering af gæld til aktiver
Bulgaria notes that meetings between NRIC and BDZ Holding had been regularly held to discuss the payment of the outstanding obligations.
Som svar på opfordringen i indledningsafgørelsen til at fremsende oplysninger om, hvorvidt og hvordan NRIC havde tænkt sig at inddrive eller håndhæve udestående gæld, anførte Bulgarien, at NRIC og BDZ Holding indgik aftaler den 1. december 2012 henholdsvis den 31. maj 2013, ifølge hvilke NRIC og BDZ Holding anerkendte visse gensidige fordringer og besluttede at effektuere en delvis betaling af udestående forpligtelser ved en transaktion, hvor gæld blev konverteret til aktiver.
Likewise, NRIC has regularly sent letters, including a notarised notice [12], to BDZ Holding requesting the payment of the outstanding obligations and requesting the payment of interest for the overdue obligations [13].
Formålet med konverteringen af gæld til aktiver var, at BDZ Holding og dets datterselskaber afviklede deres anerkendte forpligtelser over for NRIC ved at overdrage aktiver til NRIC, som ville være nyttige for dette selskab, og som havde en god likviditet.
NRIC has charged late payment interest on the overdue liabilities in accordance with Decree No 100 on the calculation of statutory interest for late payments in national and foreign currency [14] (‘Decree No 100’) of the Council of Ministers of 29 September 2012.
Denne transaktion var tilladt efter national lov, navnlig artikel 65, stk. 2, i lov om kontrakter og forpligtelser, og retsgrundlaget var ministerrådets afgørelser.
Bulgaria stated that according to Decree No 100, the annual statutory interest rate for late payment of liabilities in BGN consists of the basis interest rate of the Bulgarian National Bank in force since 1 January or 1 July of the respective year plus a risk premium of 10 %.
Bulgarien understregede i sit brev af 7. november 2016, at de konverterede aktiver, inklusive moms, i perioden 2013-2016 beløb sig til i alt 25,9 mio. BGN (13,3 mio. EUR).
As of September 2016, the interest charges due amount to BGN 23,3 million (EUR 12 million).
Første fase af konverteringen, der beløb sig til 23 mio. BGN (11,8 mio. EUR), blev gennemført i december 2013 på grundlag af ministerrådets afgørelse nr. 481/2013 af 12. august 2013.
Bulgaria alleges that NRIC acted as a market economy creditor, since it was more economically sensible to collect outstanding liabilities recognised by both parties instead of initiating a bankruptcy procedure and risking the activity of the debtor ceasing.
Endvidere blev der konverteret ejendom for henholdsvis 1,1 mio. BGN (0,58 mio. EUR) i december 2015 på grundlag af ministerrådets afgørelse nr. 965/2015 af 10. december 2015 og 1,8 mio. BGN (0,9 mio. EUR) i august 2016 på grundlag af ministerrådets afgørelser nr. 626/2016 af 29. juli 2016.
Bulgaria stated that NRIC would have to bear the costs of legal proceedings amounting to 4 % of the claimed amount in stamp duty.
De enkelte aktiver, der var genstand for konverteringerne, var blevet specificeret på forhånd afhængigt af parternes behov for den efterfølgende udnyttelse heraf.
Moreover, if legal proceedings had been initiated, NRIC would have been unable to fully enforce its claim, because BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries would have had to repay all its liabilities without preference for a particular creditor.
Bulgarien oplyste, at NRIC på dette grundlag havde erhvervet 16 ejendomme, bl.a. faciliteterne i færgekomplekset i Varna og kontorbygningen i Stara Zagora.
According to Bulgaria, since BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries are NRIC's major clients as evidenced by the fact that 77 % of NRIC's revenue could be attributed to BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries in 2015, the bankruptcy of BDZ Holding would have had a negative impact on NRIC's profitability and its ability to adequately maintain the national rail network.
Bulgarien oplyste endvidere, at NRCI traf selvstændig beslutning om, hvilke aktiver der havde kommerciel interesse for selskabet.
Debts owed by NRIC to BDZ Holding
Til støtte for sin påstand bemærkede Bulgarien, at NRIC i august 2016 afslog et forslag om konvertering af gæld til egenkapital i forbindelse med visse aktiver, hvorfor BDZ konverterede aktiver for 1,8 mio. BGN (0,9 mio. EUR) i stedet for 10 mio. BGN (5,1 mio. EUR).
NRIC owed monies to BDZ Holding for services provided relating, inter alia, to free and reduced travel passes and tickets for NRIC's employees and their families, the rental of outdoor and indoor facilities and premises that were the property of BDZ Holding, supply of traction power, transport of goods by rail, transhipment and servicing of work trains.
Processen var gennemsigtig.
Bulgaria stated that, during the period 2008 to 2011, NRIC had incurred debts towards BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries for services provided amounting in total to BGN 45532415 (EUR 23,8 million) as summarised in Table 3.
Værdiansættelsen af aktiverne byggede på markedsrelaterede principper og metoder i overensstemmelse med internationale og europæiske vurderingsstandarder fastlagt i bulgarsk lov.
Table 3
Ifølge Bulgarien kan disse aktiver sælges på ejendomsmarkedet til den vejledende pris, som de uafhængige vurderingsmænd er nået frem til.
Debts owed by NRIC to BDZ Holding 2008-2011
De endelige priser, som BDZ Holding og NRIC aftalte, var på niveau med priserne i vurderingerne.
Receivables from NRIC in BGN
Følgelig mener Bulgarien, at NRIC har handlet som en markedsøkonomisk kreditor, og at konverteringerne af gæld til aktiver var aftalt og blev gennemført på normale markedsvilkår.
BDZ Holding
FORANSTALTNING 4: STATENS UDBETALING AF REFUSION AF FEJLAGTIGT OPKRÆVET MOMS TIL BDZ HOLDING
Debt-to-asset swaps
Bulgarien forklarer, at BDZ Holding tog de nødvendige retslige skridt i henhold til retsplejeloven på beskatnings- og forsikringsområdet (»DOPK«) for at få refunderet den uretmæssigt udbetalte moms.
In response to the invitation in the opening decision to provide information as to whether and how NRIC intended to recover or enforce outstanding debts, Bulgaria stated NRIC and BDZ Holding entered into agreements on 1 December 2012 and 31 May 2013 according to which NRIC and BDZ Holding recognised certain reciprocal claims and decided to partially repay outstanding liabilities through a debt-to-asset swap transaction.
PSO-kompensationen ifølge PSO-kontrakten blev ydet til dækning af tab ved leveringen af transporttjenesteydelser.
The objective of the debt-to-asset swap was to extinguish recognised obligations of BDZ Holding and its subsidiaries towards NRIC through the provision of assets that would be useful for NRIC and which had a good level of liquidity.
Desuden var leveringen af tjenesteydelsen og kompensationen herfor ifølge kontraktens vilkår betinget af overholdelsen af krav til antal tog, sæder og afgange.
That operation was allowed under the national legislation, in particular Article 65, paragraph 2 of the Contracts and Obligations Act and its legal basis were the decisions of the Council of Ministers.
Desuden kunne kompensationen blive nedsat, hvis de specificerede krav til strækninger, sæder og afgange ikke blev overholdt.
Bulgaria stressed in its submission dated 7 November 2016 that, in the period 2013-2016, the total amount of swapped assets, including VAT, was BGN 25,9 million (EUR 13,3 million).
Bulgarien forklarer, at der ifølge artikel 29 i momsloven (»ZDDS«), der var gældende indtil 31. december 2006, i det momsbeløb, der skulle betales af leveringen af tjenesteydelser, også skulle indregnes alle finansielle midler, herunder tilskud, som leverandøren af tjenesteydelserne modtog og inddrog i driften, og som direkte knyttede sig til leveringen af disse tjenesteydelser.
The first stage of the swap, amounting to BGN 23 million (EUR 11,8 million), was implemented in December 2013 on the basis of decision No 481/12.08.2013 of the Council of Ministers.
Bulgarien forklarede videre, at alle finansielle midler (f.eks. tilskud), der er direkte knyttet til leveringen af varer eller tjenesteydelser, ifølge artikel 20, stk. 6, i ZDDS skal anses for at være bevillinger fra statens eller en anden enheds budget og dermed en yderligere betaling for varer eller tjenesteydelser.
In addition, in December 2015 and August 2016, on the basis of decisions No 965/10.12.2015 and No 626/29.07.2016 of the Council of Ministers, properties for the amounts of BGN 1,1 million (EUR 0,58 million) and BGN 1,8 million (EUR 0,9 million) respectively were swapped.
På baggrund af udtalelser fra Det Nationale Agentur for Indtægter [15] oplyste Bulgarien, at tilskud udbetalt til dækning af tab på, omkostninger ved eller erhvervelse af aktiver ligger uden for ZDDS's anvendelsesområde, hvilket er tilfældet med PSO-kontrakten.
The specific assets subject to the swaps had been specified in advance depending on the needs of the parties for their subsequent use.
I denne forbindelse klarlagde Bulgarien, at der ifølge nationale bestemmelser kunne ske momsrefusion på grundlag af en momsvurdering foretaget af ligningsmyndighederne efter en efterfølgende kontrol og revision.
Bulgaria stated that on this basis NRIC had acquired 16 properties, among which were facilities at Varna Ferry Boat Complex and the office building in Stara Zagora.
Desuden understregede de bulgarske myndigheder, at Bulgarien før sin tiltrædelse af Unionen ikke var forpligtet til fuldt ud at harmonisere sin momslov.
Bulgaria also stated that NRIC independently decided on the assets which had commercial interest for it.
Ifølge de bulgarske myndigheder har bestemmelserne i den bulgarske momslov siden 1. januar 2007, da den nye ZDDS trådte i kraft, været fuldt harmoniseret med direktiv 2006/112/EF.
To support this claim, Bulgaria noted that in August 2016 NRIC rejected a proposed debt-to-equity swap in relation to certain assets, and therefore BDZ swapped assets of BGN 1,8 million (EUR 0,9 million) instead of BGN 10 million (EUR 5,1 million).
Bulgarien anførte videre, at der i det momsbeløb, der skulle betales af leveringen af tjenesteydelser, ifølge artikel 26, stk. 3, i den nye ZDDS også skulle indregnes alle finansielle midler (f.eks. tilskud), som leverandøren af tjenesteydelserne modtog og inddrog i driften, og som direkte knyttede sig til leveringen af disse tjenesteydelser.
The process was transparent.
Bulgarien forklarede desuden, at alle finansielle midler (f.eks. tilskud), der er direkte knyttet til leveringen af varer eller tjenesteydelser, ifølge den nye ZDDS skal anses for at være bevillinger fra statens eller en anden enheds budget og dermed en yderligere betaling for varer eller tjenesteydelser.
The swapped assets were subject to evaluation by independent evaluators holding certificates issued by the Chamber of Independent Appraisers in Bulgaria.
Ifølge de bulgarske myndigheder ligger tilskud udbetalt til dækning af tab eller udgifter, herunder erhvervelse eller afvikling af aktiver, uden for den nye ZDDS's anvendelsesområde.
The determination of the value of the assets was based on market principles and methods in accordance with international and European valuation standards laid down in Bulgarian legislation.
I denne henseende forklarede Bulgarien, at de kompetente skattemyndigheders opdagelse førte til vedtagelse af afgørelser om refusion og en skatterevisionsrapport med nr. 29010038 af 7. februar 2011 i overensstemmelse med retsplejeloven på beskatnings- og forsikringsområdet [16].
The final prices agreed by BDZ Holding and NRIC were of a similar magnitude to those in the evaluations.
Derfor udgjorde refusionen af den fejlagtigt opkrævede moms ifølge Bulgarien ikke statsstøtte.
MEASURE 4: REIMBURSEMENT OF ERRONEOUSLY CHARGED VAT BY THE STATE TO BDZ HOLDING
TILBAGETRÆKNING AF ANMELDELSEN
Bulgaria submits that, due to an incorrect interpretation and application of the national legislation in force by BDZ Holding, the company had erroneously paid VAT of BGN 72 million (EUR 36,8 million) on the amount of PSO compensations for the period 1 December 2004 to 29 February 2008.
Som anført i betragtning 32 og 34 trak Bulgarien sin anmeldelse af omstruktureringsstøtten til BDZ Holding (foranstaltning 1) tilbage.
The error was detected in the audit report performed by the National Revenue Agency in 2009.
De bulgarske myndigheder anførte, at man i stedet havde til hensigt at eftergive gæld, som BDZ Holding havde stiftet før Bulgariens tiltrædelse af Unionen den 1. januar 2007 (foranstaltning 2).
Bulgaria explains that BDZ Holding took the necessary legal action under the Tax Insurance Procedure Code (‘DOPK’) for the recovery of the unduly paid VAT through reimbursement.
Ifølge artikel 10 i Rådets forordning (EU) 2015/1589 kan den berørte medlemsstat trække anmeldelsen tilbage i tide, inden Kommissionen har truffet afgørelse om støtten.
The amount of unduly paid tax was determined by acts issued by the national revenue and tax administration.
Ifølge artikel 10, stk. 2, i forordning (EU) 2015/1589 afslutter Kommissionen den formelle undersøgelsesprocedure, hvis den allerede havde indledt den, da anmeldelsen blev trukket tilbage.
(56) Bulgaria further states that the company was entrusted with a PSO through a PSO contract of 29 June 2004, signed in September 2004, between the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communication and BDZ Holding.
Kommissionen bemærker, at omstruktureringsstøtten endnu ikke er ydet.
The PSO compensation under the PSO contract was granted to cover losses incurred in providing transport services.
Eftersom Bulgarien har trukket sin anmeldelse tilbage og ikke vil yde omstruktureringsstøtten på 550 mio. BGN til BDZ Holding, bør den formelle undersøgelsesprocedure i henhold til traktatens artikel 108, stk. 2, afsluttes, for så vidt angår den anmeldte omstruktureringsstøtte.
In addition, according to the terms of the contract, the provision of the service and the compensation were subject to compliance with conditions related to the number of trains, seats and hours.
VURDERING AF FORANSTALTNINGERNE
Moreover, the compensation could be reduced if the specified requirements regarding kilometres, seats and hours were not met.
I henhold til traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, er »statsstøtte eller støtte, som ydes ved hjælp af statsmidler under enhver tænkelig form, og som fordrejer eller truer med at fordreje konkurrencevilkårene ved at begunstige visse virksomheder eller visse produktioner, uforenelig med det indre marked, i det omfang den påvirker samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne«.
Bulgaria explains that, according to Article 29 of the Value Added Tax Act (‘ZDDS’) in place until 31 December 2006, the taxable amount on the supply of services also includes all financial means received and absorbed by the supplier of the services and directly related to the supply of those services, including subsidies.
Kriterierne i traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, er kumulative.
Bulgaria further explained that according to Article 20(6) of the ZDDS, all financial means (for example, subsidies) directly linked to the supply of goods or services are to be considered to be grants from the State budget or other entity, constituting an additional payment for goods or services.
For at det kan fastslås, at en foranstaltning udgør statsstøtte efter traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, skal alle følgende betingelser derfor være opfyldt:
On the basis of statements from the National Revenue Agency [15] Bulgaria submitted that the subsidies received to cover the losses, the costs or the acquisition of assets are outside the scope of the ZDDS, which is the case with the PSO contract.
Støttemodtageren er en virksomhed efter traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, hvilket indebærer, at den udøver økonomisk virksomhed.
In this context, Bulgaria clarified that national provisions allowed VAT to be refunded on the basis of a VAT assessment issued by the revenue authorities following an ex-post verification and revision.
Foranstaltningen er finansieret med statsmidler og kan tilregnes staten.
Furthermore, Bulgaria asserted that before Bulgaria's accession to the Union it was not obliged to fully harmonise its VAT law.
Foranstaltningen giver en økonomisk fordel.
According to Bulgaria, since 1 January 2007, when the new ZDDS entered into force, the Bulgarian VAT law provisions have been fully harmonised with Directive 2006/112/EC.
Denne fordel er selektiv.
Bulgaria stated further that according to Article 26(3) of the new ZDDS the taxable amount on the supply of services also includes all financial means (for example, subsidies) received and absorbed by the supplier of the services and directly related to the supply of those services.
Den pågældende foranstaltning fordrejer eller truer med at fordreje konkurrencevilkårene og kan påvirke samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne.
Bulgaria further explained that according to the new ZDDS, all financial means (for example, subsidies) directly linked to the supply of goods or services shall be considered to be grants from the State budget or other entity, constituting an additional payment for goods or services.
FOREKOMST AF STATSSTØTTE EFTER ARTIKEL 107, STK.
According to Bulgaria, however the subsidies received to cover the losses or expenses, including the acquisition or the liquidation of assets are outside the scope of the new ZDDS.
1, I TRAKTATEN OM DEN EUROPÆISKE UNIONS FUNKTIONSMÅDE (»TRAKTATEN«)
According to Bulgaria, the error, consisting in incorrectly charging VAT on revenue from the provision of the PSO services for the period 1 December 2004 to 29 February 2008, had been detected by the relevant tax authorities in the course of an inspection.
Økonomisk virksomhed og begrebet en virksomhed i henhold til traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1
In this regard, Bulgaria explained that those findings of the relevant tax authorities resulted in decisions ordering the reimbursement and a tax audit report number 29010038 of 7 February 2011 in accordance with the Bulgarian Tax Insurance Procedure Code [16].
Ifølge fast retspraksis skal Kommissionen først fastslå, hvem der er støttemodtager af foranstaltning 2.
Bulgaria further explained that the VAT reimbursement procedures were set out in Articles 128 and 129 of the Bulgarian Tax Insurance Procedure Code.
Traktatens artikel 107, stk. 1, henviser til begrebet virksomhed ved definitionen af støttemodtageren.
Therefore, according to Bulgaria, the reimbursement of the wrongfully charged VAT did not constitute State aid.
Som bekræftet af Unionens domstole behøver en virksomhed ifølge denne bestemmelse ikke at være en enkelt juridisk enhed, men kan omfatte en gruppe af selskaber [17].
WITHDRAWAL OF THE NOTIFICATION
Det centrale kriterium for bestemmelsen af, hvorvidt der er tale om en virksomhed efter denne bestemmelse, er, om der indgår en »økonomisk enhed«.
As stated in recitals 32 and 34, Bulgaria withdrew its notification concerning the restructuring aid to BDZ Holding (Measure 1).
En økonomisk enhed kan bestå af flere juridiske personer.
Bulgaria indicated that it intended instead to cancel debts incurred by BDZ Holdings prior to Bulgaria's accession to the Union on 1 January 2007 (Measure 2).
Denne økonomiske enhed betragtes i så fald som den relevante virksomhed.
According to Article 10 of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1589, the Member State concerned may withdraw the notification in due time before the Commission has taken a decision on the aid.
I denne henseende finder Unionens domstole det relevant, at der forekommer en kontrollerende kapitalandel og andre funktionelle, økonomiske og organisatoriske forbindelser [18].
According to Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589, in cases where the Commission has already initiated the formal investigation procedure when a notification is withdrawn, the Commission must close the procedure.
I det foreliggende tilfælde anførte Bulgarien, at BDZ Holding er den juridiske enhed, hvis gæld, der var opstået før 2007, vil blive eftergivet.
The Commission notes that the restructuring aid has not yet been granted.
Som anført i betragtning 34, 35 og 36 mener Bulgarien faktisk, at BDZ Holding er den eneste støttemodtager af foranstaltning 2.
Since Bulgaria has withdrawn its notification and will not grant the restructuring aid of BGN 550 million to BDZ Holding, the formal investigation procedure under Article 108(2) of the Treaty should be closed in respect of the notified restructuring aid measure.
Imidlertid tyder flere oplysninger på, at den pågældende virksomhed ikke er begrænset til den juridiske person BDZ Holding alene.
ASSESSMENT OF THE MEASURES