The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in a Judgment handed down yesterday, confirms the validity of the Spanish Tax Lease System (‘the STLS’), applicable, amongst others, to shipbuilding.

The Judgment wholly dismisses the appeal brought by the Netherlands Maritime Technology Association (NMTA) against the European Comission’s Decision approving the STLS in November 2012.

In light of the complaints against the STLS, mainly from the shipbuilding industry in other Member States, the European Commission issued a new Decision dated 17 July 2013 whereby some of the measures of the STLS were deemed to be illegal State aid and were partially incompatible with the internal market (see news of 17 December 2015).

This new Judgment confirms the one handed down by the General Court of the European Union on 17 December 2015 (please click here) regarding the annulment of the Decision of the Commission of 17 July 2013.