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Ranking of claims payable to the government in respect of refunded subsidies depends on when they were granted

Judgment by the Supreme Court (Chamber One), November 20, 2018

Chronological parameters must be used when classifying claims arising from the obligation to refund subsidies. Accordingly, if the subsidies were granted before the insolvency order, the claim in respect of the refunded subsidy must be a pre-insolvency claim whereas if the subsidy was granted after the insolvency order, the claim for the refund must be a post-insolvency claim.

El rango de los créditos a favor de la Administración por restitución de subvenciones depende del momento de su concesión

Sentencia de la Sala Primera del Tribunal Supremo de 20 de noviembre de 2018

En un auto de 18 de diciembre de 2018, el Juzgado Mercantil número 1 de Madrid ha permitido que un deudor declarado en concurso pueda suscribir y homologar un acuerdo de refinanciación con posterioridad a la declaración de concurso.

Corporate income tax

Accelerated depreciation may only be elected in the statutory filing period for the return

Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal. Decision of February 14, 2019

As part of a limited review procedure, a taxpayer requested recognition of a downward adjustment to the corporate income tax base, by claiming the benefit related to accelerated depreciation (which had not been included on the return filed in the voluntary period). The tax authorities rejected that request.

El Tribunal Constitucional ha declarado inconstitucional una disposición de una ley del Parlamento de Cataluña que permitía que, en caso de venta a un tercero (habitualmente un fondo) de un crédito garantizado con vivienda, el deudor pudiera liberarse de su deuda pagando al comprador de la deuda exclusivamente el precio que éste había pagado (más los intereses legales y gastos causados por la reclamación).

The Constitutional Court has held unconstitutional a provision in a law passed by the Catalan parliament which, if a loan secured with a home is sold to a third party (a fund usually), allowed the debtor to be released from their debt by paying the buyer out of the debt only the price the buyer had paid (plus the statutory interest and costs caused by the claim).

A party on the receiving end of an adjudication is usually in a difficult position. Its situation is only made worse if the referring party is insolvent.

In such a situation, if the adjudicator makes an award in favour of the insolvent company the chances of subsequently recovering any sums awarded in litigation are very limited. While a stay to enforcement may be available, there are costs associated with obtaining a stay which will probably also be irrecoverable.

A trustee in bankruptcy lost all rights to the proceeds of sale of a freehold property after he disclaimed title to it

Background

Mr Sleight was the trustee in bankruptcy of an insolvent estate. The deceased’s assets included several freehold properties that were charged to banks where the value of the property was less than the amounts due under the charges. Given the negative equity, the trustee in bankruptcy disclaimed title to these properties as they constituted “onerous property”.

En una reciente resolución, la DGRN trata de equilibrar el necesario rigor que debe presidir nuestro sistema registral con la adecuada agilidad y seguridad jurídica que requieren los adquirentes de bienes cuando se ha declarado la insolvencia.

La Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado (DGRN) ha relajado los requisitos de inscripción de los bienes adquiridos durante el procedimiento concursal y, señaladamente, durante la fase de liquidación. Así lo señala en una resolución de 24 de octubre de 2018.

The DGRN is seeking to strike a balance between the necessary rigor that must prevail in the Spanish registration system and the legal certainty needed for the recipients of assets during insolvency proceedings. 

In a decision rendered on October 24, 2018, the Directorate-General for Registers and the Notarial Profession (DGRN) relaxed the requirements for registration of assets acquired during insolvency proceedings, and specifically, during the liquidation phase.