On 23 September 2020, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment holding that the Spanish tax system applicable to certain finance lease agreements entered into by shipyards, the 'Spanish Tax Lease System', constitutes an unlawful State aid scheme.
Under the system, shipping companies were allowed to benefit from a 20-30% price reduction when purchasing ships constructed in Spanish Shipyards. This was achieved through the use of an Economic Interest Grouping (EIG) that takes…