Order of the General Court of 9 February 2024 – Derivados del Flúor v Commission
(Joined Cases T-500/14 to T-504/14) 1
(Action for annulment – State aid – Aid granted by the Spanish authorities to certain economic interest groupings (EIG) 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 – Partial disappearance of the subject matter of the dispute – No need to adjudicate in part – Manifest inadmissibility in part – Advantage – Selective nature – New aid – Effect on trade between Member States – Misuse of powers – Equal treatment – Legitimate expectations – Legal certainty – Action in part manifestly unfounded in law)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant in Case T-500/14: Derivados del Flúor, SA (Bilbao, Spain) (represented by: J. Prieto Tejo, lawyer)
Applicant in Case T-501/14: Fami-Cuatro de Inversiones, SA (Madrid, Spain) (represented by: J. Prieto Tejo, lawyer)
Applicant in Case T-502/14: Torrevisa, SA (Torrevieja, Spain) (represented by: J. Bonet Léon and F. Garcia Sarabia, lawyers)
Applicant in Case T-503/14: Euroways, SL (Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain) (represented by: J. Bonet Léon and F. Garcia Sarabia, lawyers)
Applicant in Case T-504/14: Sertrans Catalunya, SA (Barcelona, Spain) (represented by: J. Bonet Léon and F. Garcia Sarabia, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: J. Carpi Badía and P. Němečková, acting as Agents, and by M. Segura Catalán, lawyer)
Re:
By their actions under Article 263 TFEU, the applicants seek the annulment 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 (OJ 2014 L 114, p. 1).
Operative part of the order
The Court:
Rules that there is no longer any need to adjudicate on the actions in so far as they are directed against 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;
Dismisses the actions as to the remainder;
Orders each party to bear its own costs.
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1 OJ C 282, 25.8.2014.