New revision of the “Tax Lease”

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At the end of July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the highest authority of the Community, annulled the sentence delivered by the General Court of the European Union (GC) on the so-called “Spanish tax lease system” or “Tax lease”.

Let us recall that the now annulled sentence was delivered by the CJEU in 2015 and it set aside a previous decision of the European Commission by means of which the Commission ordered the recovery of the tax aids granted by Spain to the maritime shipping companies between 2007 and 2011 for considering the State aids illegal and incompatible with the internal European market. The Commission reached this conclusion after a formal investigation which concluded on July 17th 2013 with the Decision, now annulled by the CJEU, on the existence of tax aids granted by Spain whose only beneficiaries were Economic Interest Groups (EIG) and their investors. This decision, needless to say, had an important impact on the affected Spanish naval sector and was appealed before the CJEU by the Spanish government and by numerous investors of the EIGs.

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Amendment of the Organic Law on Counter Smuggling

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On July 13th 2018, the Council of Ministers approved the preliminary draft of Amendment of the Organic Law 12/1995, of December 12th, on Counter Smuggling, proposed by the Ministry of Finance – Customs and Excise Department .

The aim of this legislative initiative is to strengthen the fight against the criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and tobacco and drug smuggling in Spain by declaring, for the purpose of the preliminary draft, the so-called RHIBS (rigid-hulled inflatable boat) as a prohibited type. The preliminary draft specifies that the types to be considered illegal are: a) rigid-hulled inflatable boats over 8 meters in length; b) or under 8 meters in length but with power greater than 150 kW (203.94 CV); c) and any other boats that might be suspected, on the basis of reasonable indications, to be used for committing or enabling the commission of an offence of smuggling. If the preliminary draft is adopted, the bodies responsible for suppressing these criminal activities shall be allowed to confiscate those high-speed boats that “are supposedly used” for committing smuggling-related criminal acts. Read more

Conflict resolution: PASSENGER CLAIMS

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With a clear bet in favour of cruise tourism due to the relevance that this sector has in the economy of our country, Spain has achieved a privileged position in the global context of this sector. According to data from the public entity Puertos del Estado, in 2017 the number of visitors on cruise ships exceeded by 9 million, making Spain the second largest European country in the number of cruise passengers. Puertos del Estado estimates that by 2020, Spain will receive 9.5 million cruise passengers.

These data must be completed with regular line vessels that progressively add tourist visits year after year. In 2017, the total number of passengers traveling on regular lines amounted to 24.7 million. Although the majority of these lines are dedicated to the traffic between the peninsula and Africa and inter-island connections, it is expected that these numbers will increase as the routes linking Spain with Italy and the United Kingdom or the recently inaugurated line between Santander and the Irish port of Cork, are gaining prominence. Read more

Sulphur content of marine fuels, lead to sanction

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Over the last few months we assisted in many sanctioning proceedings initiated by various Spanish Harbour Masters and the Directorate General of the Merchant Navy (DGMN) related to the sulphur content of fuels for maritime use used by ships docked and anchored in Spanish ports.

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International Sales under CIF terms and the Active Legitimation of the Insurers

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In international sales under CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) or CFR (Cost and Freight) terms, it is clear that the Buyer bears all risks of damage once the goods are onboard the ship at the port of shipment. However, it is common that the Insurer of the goods compensates the CIF Seller while the goods are damaged during the voyage although, according to the agreed CIF terms, the Seller is not responsible for any risk in the moment of the damage.

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AIYON Abogados attended the “Correspondents’ Conference” organised by the IG P & I Clubs

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Thanks to the IG P&I GROUP for hosting us those days in London.

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World Maritime Day

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The International Maritime Organization (IMO) established the World Maritime Day to give marine ecosystems the role they deserve. “Connecting Ships, Ports and People” has been selected as the World Maritime Day theme for 2017.

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A Jurisdiction Clause agreed between an Insurer of Civil Liability and a Policy Holder does not bind third parties

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The Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in matter C-368/16, dated on the 13th of July of 2017, referred to the court for a preliminary ruling on the following question: can an injured party that has a direct action against the insurer of liability of the party that caused the damage bring an action against the insurer in the place where the harmful event occurred or is the injured party bound by the jurisdiction clause agreed between the insurer and the policy holder? Read more

Recreational crafts, Competent courts and (non-) limitation of liability

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A recent Supreme Court Judgment dated on the 28th of June 2017 has confirmed previous decisions in matters relating to recreational crafts and civil liability insurance, namely:

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Stevedore Service Regulation eventually settled in Spain

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The Official State Bulletin (BOE) dated May 13th 2017 published the Royal Decree – Law 8/2017 of May 12th which modifies the regulation of workers that provide port cargo handling services and operations, in order to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of December 11th 2014, in the case C-576/13 (infringement proceeding 2009/4052). After several months of debates and negotiations with the affected sectors and since the expectations of the previous RD-law 4/2017 were not fulfilled (and was revoked on March 16th 2017), this Royal Decree is the second attempt of the Spanish Government to regulate the situation of port cargo handling services and operations.

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