Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 16 September 2013

1. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationInfringements classified as very serious on the basis of their nature aloneNo requirement to determine their impact and their geographical extent (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03) (see paras 133, 134, 140-142)

2. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationCriteriaMitigating circumstancesApproval or tolerance of the infringement in national law or by the national authorities (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03) (see para. 138)

3. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationNo obligation on the Commission to adhere to its previous decision-making practice (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2)) (see paras 161-163)

4. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationCriteriaGravity of the infringementEffective capacity to cause significant damage to competition on the market concernedRelevance of the market shares of the undertaking concerned (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2) (see paras 178, 179, 183)

5. Judicial proceedingsIntroduction of new pleas during the proceedingsPlea raised for the first time at the hearingInadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(2), first para.) (see para. 209)

6. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationTurnover taken into considerationReference yearLast complete year of the infringement (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15) (see paras 223, 224)

7. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationCriteriaGravity of the infringementAggravating circumstancesRole of leader in the infringementConceptCriteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 2) (see paras 243‑249)

8. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationNon-imposition or reduction of the fine for cooperation of the undertaking concernedAccount taken of the chronological element of the cooperation providedScope (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 2002/C 45/03, points 21 and 23(b)) (see paras 306, 317-322)

9. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationCriteriaAccount taken of the incriminated undertaking’s cooperation with the Commission outside the framework fixed by the Leniency NoticeConditionsLimits (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notices 96/C 207/04 and 98/C 9/03, point 3) (see para. 358)

10. CompetitionAdministrative procedureObligations of the CommissionDuty to act within a reasonable timeAnnulment of the decision finding an infringement by reason of excessive duration of the procedureConditionHarm to the rights of defence of the undertakings concernedNoneCompliance with the limitation period laid down by Regulation No 1/2003Inapplicability of considerations linked to the principle that action must be taken within a reasonable time (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(1); Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 25) (see paras 372, 373, 383, 384)

11. CompetitionFinesAmountDeterminationMaximum amountCalculationTurnover to be taken into considerationCumulative turnover of all the companies constituting the economic entity operating as an undertaking (Art. 81 EC; Council Regulations No 17, Art. 15(2), and No 1/2003, Art. 23(2)) (see para. 412)

12. CompetitionUnion rulesInfringementsAttributionParent company and subsidiariesEconomic unitCriteria for assessmentPresumption that a parent company exerts a decisive influence over its wholly-owned subsidiariesRebuttableBurden of proof (Art. 81 EC; Council Regulations No 17, Art. 15(2), and No 1/2003, Art. 23(2)) (see paras 416-421)

13. Acts of the institutionsStatement of reasonsObligationScopeDecision finding an infringement of the competition rules (Arts 81 EC and 253 EC) (see paras 436-438)

14. Actions for annulmentJudgment annulling a measureScopeAbsolute authority of res judicataScopeBoth operative part and grounds to be taken into account (see paras 457, 458, 463-465, 467)

15. Actions for annulmentJudgment annulling a measureEffectsAnnulment of a Commission decision finding a breach of the competition rulesEffects in relation to addressees who have not brought an actionAccount taken by the Court in the action brought by the parent company of the outcome of the action brought by the subsidiary (Arts 81 EC and 230 EC) (see paras 459, 460)

Re:

APPLICATION for annulment of Decision C(2007) 4441 final of the Commission, of 3 October 2007, relating to a procedure of application of Article 81 (EC) (Case COMP/38.710 — Bitumen (Spain)), and the reduction of the amount of the fine imposed on the applicant by that decision.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Dismisses the claim of the European Commission seeking an increase of the amount of the fine;

3. Orders Productos Asfálticos (PROAS), SA to pay the costs.