SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Michele Fara, Ninos Aho, Paula Bäckdén and Anders Leissner, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
8. Implications of Non- Performance, the IMO 2020, Trade Sanctions and the War in Ukraine 8.1 Force Majeure and Frustration Generally, these types of issues will depend on the particular circumstances and the applicable contractual terms. Although the concept of force majeure is not expressly provided for as a gener - ally applicable rule under Swedish law, there are possibilities under the Swedish Contracts Act (1915:218) to modify or set aside contract terms that become excessively onerous as a result of circumstances that are typically regarded as force majeure events. 8.2 Enforcement of the IMO 2020 Rule Relating to Limitation on the Sulphur Content of Fuel Oil Sweden has implemented “IMO 2020”, and the responsible authority is the Swedish Transport Agency. Notably, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea are so-called sulphur emission control areas (SECAs), which means that the sulphur content must not exceed 0.10% by weight. The requirements for the sulphur content of fuel used on board are regulated by EU Directive 2016/902, and the applicable Swedish legisla - tion is the Sulphur Ordinance (2014:509). The authors are not aware of any proceedings or sanctions having taken place because of a vio - lation. 8.3 Trade Sanctions Sweden does not have any sanctions of its own. Instead, Sweden applies UN and EU sanctions. Breach of sanctions entails criminal liability in Sweden. Generally, only natural persons can commit a crime in Sweden. Legal persons (eg, companies) can be subject to corporate fines if
jurisdiction clause, has failed to appear in court at the first hearing or, if the preparation is in writing, omitted to submit an answer (Chapter 10 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure (1942:740)). The respondent must present its objection when making its first appearance in the case. Should the respondent be prevented from asserting an objection by legal excuse, the objection must be presented as soon as possi - ble after the excuse has ceased to exist. Failure to raise such an objection within the timeframe results in the forfeiture of the right to raise the objection (Chapter 34 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure). Please note that the rules are somewhat different where the Brussels I Regulation is applicable. 7. Ship-Owners’ Income Tax Relief 7.1 Exemptions or Tax Reliefs on the Income of Ship-Owners’ Companies There is an optional tonnage tax system. Ship - ping operations that are qualified include the transport of goods and passengers at sea with ships that have a gross tonnage of at least 100, have their strategic and financial management in Sweden and are mainly used in international traffic or in domestic traffic in another country. For the shipping business to be considered qualified, it is further required, among other things, that a certain proportion of the ships in the company’s fleet are registered in a register in a state within the EU/EEA. As a general rule, the company can leave the tonnage tax system after ten tax years at the earliest. In addition, in order to strengthen Swedish shipping, for 2025, the Swedish government has proposed that the stamp duty on ships is abolished and also that a bare boat registry is established.
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