Statement of Objections Indication of sanctions

Statement of Objections Indication of sanctions

Statement of Objections Indication of sanctions and remedies

The SO must also clearly indicate whether the Commission intends to impose fines (Article 23 of Regulation 1/2003), a periodic penalty payment (Article 24) or other remedies (structural or behavioural), should the objections be upheld, referring to the evidence and facts supporting such measures. 1

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In case of imposition of fines pursuant to Article 23 of Regulation 1/2003, the SO will refer to the relevant principles laid down in the Guidelines on setting fines.

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The Commission must indicate the essential facts and matters of law which may result in the imposition of a fine, such as the duration and gravity of the infringement involved, as well as whether the infringement was committed intentionally or by negligence.17 It will also mention in a sufficiently precise manner that certain facts may give rise to aggravating circumstances, and to the extent possible, to attenuating circumstances.

Other Considerations

The Best Practices Notice states that, although under no legal obligation in this respect, the SO will endeavour to include (using information available) further matters relevant to any subsequent calculation of fines, including the relevant sales figures to be taken into account and the year(s) that will be considered for the value of such sales. Such information may also be provided to the parties after the Statement of Objections. In both cases, the parties will be provided with an opportunity to comment 2 .

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In the SO the Commission should also inform the parties that in exceptional cases, it may, upon request, take account of the undertaking's inability to pay and reduce or cancel the fine that might otherwise be imposed if that fine would irretrievably jeopardise the economic viability of the undertaking. 3

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Regarding structural or behavioural remedies, the SO should be as detailed as possible and indicate the envisaged remedies. The information given in the SO should be detailed enough to allow the parties to defend themselves as to the necessity and proportionality of the remedies envisaged. If structural remedies are envisaged, in accordance with Article 7(1) of Regulation 1/2003 the SO should spell out why there is no equally effective behavioural remedy or why any equally effective behavioural remedy would be more burdensome for the undertaking concerned than the structural remedy 4 .

Resources

See Also

References

  • Information about Statement of Objections Indication of sanctions in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Notes


[Note 1]
Case C.-176/99 P ARBED SA v Commission, [2003] ECR I-10687P, paragraph 21; Case T-395/94, Atlantic Container Line AB and Others v Commission , [2002] ECR II-00875, paragraphs 417-420.; Case 322/81, Michelin v Commission, [1983] ECR 3461, paragraph 20. $$17%% Case 322/81, Michelin v Commission [1983] ECR 3461, paragraphs 19 and 20); Case C-289/04P Showa Denko KK [2006] ECR I-5859, paragraph 69; Joined Cases T-109/02 e.a. Bolloré e.a. [2007] ECR II-947, paragraphs 396-404.
[Note 2]
Best Practices Notice, paragraph 85.
[Note 3]
Best Practices Notice, paragraphs 85 et seq.
[Note 4]
See Best Practices Notice, paragraph 83.

Further Reading

  • Information about Statement of Objections Indication of sanctions in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)

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