Closure of the file

The file should be closed as soon as the Decision has been sent out for the parties. See the relevant Module on Administrative closure of the file.

Resources

References

Information about Closure of the file in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Administrative Closure of the File. Introduction

The present module only relates to the administrative “closure of the file”, which is distinct from the official and formal “closure of proceedings”. It is important to keep in mind the distinction between the two: – closure of proceedings, which mirrors the decision to initiate proceedings in a given case, under Article 11(6) of Regulation No 1/2003 and Art. 2(1) Reg. 773/2004. This is done by the adoption of a decision by the Director General for Competition on the basis of powers that have been subdelegated to him/her (see the module on closure of proceedings); – closure of the file: this is a purely administrative closure (which implies that the case, which bears a case management application number, does not remain “open” in this database).

More about Closure of the File

Once a case has been attributed a number by the Antitrust Registry of DG Competition (and accordingly loaded in the case management application), the case is “ongoing” as long as it has not been closed. Therefore, and whatever the motive for concluding the case (prohibition decision, commitment decision, rejection of complaint, withdrawal of the complaint, DG Competition decides not to investigate the case further, decision to close proceedings, etc), the case needs to be administratively closed in the case management system.

More about the Subject

This closure of the file is a purely administrative act, which allows DG Competition to keep its files (and databases) in order and to inform Member States of the state of play of DG Competition cases.

Resources

References

Information about Closure of the File in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Administrative Closure of the File

In order to close the file, the relevant Head of Unit signs and sends a “note de classement” to the Registry, with an indication of the “closure motive” and “closure type”. This must be done even if it is expected that there may be an appeal against the decision adopted by the Commission in this case (prohibition decision, commitment decision, rejection of complaint, etc).

More about Closure of the File

The Head of Unit ensures that the case file is properly managed and that the file is complete at the stage of the administrative closure. A case is complete once all relevant documents to the case are uploaded into the case management application, which represents the master file for the case. This is mainly done during the case life for all incoming and outgoing documents, no matter the format and the sender. Clearly non-related documents and doubles should be taken out (see detailed information on the Intranet page of the Antitrust Registry on filing and closing a file).

More about the Subject

The file must then be archived. For cases numbered 39268 or more, the Registry holds the file via the case management application (the paper file does not any more constitute the original file).

Other Considerations

The case-team should inform the Registry whether the closure is definitive or whether an appeal or needs of monitoring are likely.

Resources

References

Information about Closure of the File in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Closure of the File

Closure of the file