The CJEU annuls the obligation to return the aid from the shipyards ordered by Brussels

BRUSELAS, 2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has annulled this Thursday the decision of the European Commission to declare illegal the Spanish system of tax credits ('tax lease') for investors in shipyards and that forced Spain to recover this support , understanding that Brussels did not duly justify the decision, although it supports the analysis that it was a plan with a "selective nature" that favored the beneficiaries over others.

In its pronouncement, the Luxembourg-based court states that the recovery of the entire amount of the aid contemplated by the Brussels decision was ordered on the basis of an "erroneous identification" of the beneficiaries.

However, it dismisses the appeals filed against other elements because it considers that the General Court did not err at first instance in considering that the existence of discretionary aspects could favor the beneficiaries over others in a comparable situation, therefore it could be considered that the consistent measure in early repayment it had a "selective nature".

It also supports the endorsement of the previous ruling to the European Commission in its decision to consider the selective nature of early repayment that the Spanish bonus system was selective as a whole, because the other controversial measures that comprised it depended on the prior authorization of early repayment.

The case dates back to 2013, when the then Competition Commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, asked the Spanish authorities to recover the illegal aid granted to the shipyards under this system between 2007 and 2011, after concluding that the aid regime violated the rules of the EU in terms of public aid because it granted a selective advantage to its beneficiaries over its competitors.

The system denounced by the Community Executive made it possible to finance, through a specific legal and financial structure, the construction of maritime vessels by shipyards and their acquisition by shipping companies at a discount on the price of the vessel. For this, a leasing company and an economic interest group (AIE) intervened as intermediaries.

By declaring the system illegal, the Commission established that the subsidies should be repaid by the investors who financed the construction of the ships, but not by the shipowners or the shipyards themselves.

This system was launched in 2002, although Brussels had proposed that the support granted since April 2007 be recovered, contrary to the position of the Government, which advocated counting from 2011, the date on which the bonus system was considered illegal.

Brussels acted in this case after receiving several complaints from the shipbuilding sector in other Member States, in which it was stated that the 'tax lease' allowed the purchase of Spanish-made ships with discounts of between 20% and 30%. , thus causing the loss of shipbuilding contracts for the complainants.

The Spanish Government and the companies Lico Leasing and Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión appealed the Brussels decision before the European Court and requested its annulment, something they achieved with a decision of the General Court of the EU in December 2015, which was later annulled by the CJEU and returned the case to first instance.

In 2020, a new ruling by the European General Court endorsed the decision of the European Commission to consider this tax architecture illegal and demand the return of the aid; a ruling that was appealed and that the CJEU resolves this Thursday partially in favor of Spain and the rest of the appellants in cassation.