Judgment of the General Court of 24 April 2024 – Hispavima v Commission
(Case T-514/14) 1
(State aid – Aid granted by the Spanish authorities in favour of certain economic interest groupings (EIGs) and their investors – Tax scheme 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 partial recovery – Partial disappearance of the subject matter of the dispute – No need to adjudicate in part – New aid – Legitimate expectations – 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)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant: Hispavima (Murcia, Spain) (represented by: A. Barba, M. López Ridruejo and A. Picón Franco, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: J. Carpi Badía and P. Němečková, acting as Agents, and by M. Segura Catalán, lawyer)
Re:
By its action based on Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks 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 judgment
The Court:
Rules 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 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 action as to the remainder;
Orders each party to bear its own costs.
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1 OJ C 303, 8.9.2014.