1972D0443 — EN — 01.07.1986 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSIONDECISION
of22December 1972
onalignmentofpricesforsalesofcoalinthecommonmarket
(72/443/ECSC)
(OJ L 297, 30.12.1972, p. 45)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Commission Decision No 2526/86/ECSC of 31 July 1986 L 222 8 8.8.1986
Amended by:
►A1 Actof Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
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COMMISSIONDECISION
of22December 1972
onalignmentofpricesforsalesofcoalinthecommonmarket
(72/443/ECSC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel
Community, and in particular Articles 60 (2) (b) and 47 thereof;
Having regard to Decision No 30-53 (1) of 2 May 1953 concerning
practices prohibited in the common market for coal and steel underArticle 60 (1) of the Treaty;
Having regard to Decision No 3-58 (
2) of 18 March 1958 on alignment
of prices for sales of coal in the common market;
Having regard to the Decision of the Council of the European Commu-
nities of 22 January 1972 concerning the accession of new Member
States to the European Coal and Steel Community, and in particular
Article 153 of the Act annexed thereto;
After consulting the Consultative Committee;Whereas, to avoid disturbances of the common market, Decision No 3-
58 restricted the right of undertakings to align prices on a price list
established on another basing point and securing for the buyer themost advantageous conditions at the place of delivery;
Whereas since 1958 changes have occurred in the common market for
coal; whereas the restrictions on the right of alignment must be adapted
to changed circumstances; whereas the accession of the UnitedKingdom, Denmark and Ireland and its consequences for the coalmarketmustbe borne in mind;
Whereas the rules laid down by Decision No 3-58 must consequently
be replaced by new provisions; whereas, under Article 30 of the Act,
this must be done in conformity with the guidelines set out in AnnexII thereto;
Whereas the right to align must to this end be confined to the price
lists of undertakings and selling agencies which, because of the volume
and nature of production, are influential in the formation of prices inthe common market; whereas experience since 1958 has shown thatthis means undertakings which sell on the common market more thanone million tons annually of hard coal or products obtained from hardor brown coal of their own production; whereas, moreover, undertak-
ings who are soon to cease production should be taken into
consideration;
Whereas, furthermore, the tonnages which undertakings may supply
under alignment should be limited; whereas to avoid perceptible altera-
tions to traditional supply channels such limitations should be defined
in geographical terms and for the principal groups of products;Whereas the exercise of the right to align presupposes that the fuelsto be supplied are comparable to those in the price list on which align-mentis effect ed;
Whereas in order to prevent illicit under-quotation, undertakings are
required under Article 3 of Decision No 30-53 to have regard to allthe terms of the competitor's price list when calculating the deliveredprice;
Whereas, in order that delivered prices may be calculated accurately,
undertakings must be required to know the exact amount of the trans-portcost s;1972D0443 — EN — 01.07.1986 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No 6, 4.5.1953, p. 109.
(2) OJ No 11, 29.3.1958, p. 157/58.
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Whereas, to facilitate the verification of authorised alignments where
shipping costs are involved, undertakings must supply the Commissionwith information on the costs taken into account; whereas the Commis-
sion may publish the shipping costs used in an appropriate manner for
the information of all concerned;
Whereas so that the scale of the transactions carried out by undertak-
ings as a resultof alignmentmay be assessed and so t hata checkmay be kept as to whether this Decision is applied correctly, undertak-ings must be required to notify the Commission at regular intervals ofthe character and amount of the transactions that they carry out under
alignment;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. Undertakings in the coal industry may use their right to align
their prices on a price list established on another basing point andsecuring for the buyer more advantageous conditions at the place ofdelivery only in accordance with the provisions of the following Arti-cles of this Decision.
2. This Decision shall also apply to the selling agencies of undertak-
ings in the coal industry within the meaning of Article 1 (2) of
Decision No 30-53.
Article 2
Undertakings in the coal industry shall align their prices on the price
lists of none other than the undertakings and selling agencies listedbelow:
— Aachener Kohlenverkauf GmbH, Aachen,
— Empresa Nacional Carbonífera del Sur (Encasur), Córdoba,
— Gewerkschaft Auguste-Viktoria, Marl i.W.,
— Houillères du Bassin du Centre et du Midi, Saint-Etienne,— Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine, Metz,
— Houillères du Bassin du Nord etdu Pas-de-Calais, Douai,
— Hullera Vasco Leonesa SA, Madrid,
— Hulleras del Norte SA (Hunosa), Oviedo,
— Minero Siderúrgica de Ponferrada SA, Madrid,
— National Coal Board, London,
— Niedersächsischer Kohlen-Verkauf GmbH, Hannover,
— NV Kempense Steenkolenmijnen, Houthalen-Helchteren,
— Rheinischer Braunkohlenbrikett-Verkauf GmbH, Köln,
— Ruhrkohle AG, Essen,1972D0443 — EN — 01.07.1986 — 002.001 — 3
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— Saarbergwerke AG, Saarbrücken,
— Sophia-Jacoba Handelsgesellschaftm.b.H., Hückelhoven.
Article 3
1. In each of the sales areas listed below the undertakings listed in
Article 2 may align only up to the tonnage marketed by them in that
area during the preceding calendar year.
The sales areas for the purposes of this provision shall be the
following:
(a) Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
(b) In the Federal Republic of Germany:
— Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen
►M1and Berlin West ◄,
— North-Rhineland-Westphalia, Rhineland-Pfalz and Saarland,
— Hessen, Baden-Württemberg and Bayern;
(c) Belgium and Luxemburg;
(d) In France:
— the region to the east of and including the departments of
Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre, Haute-
Vienne, Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées,
— all other French departments;
(e) Italy;
(f) The Netherlands;
(g) Denmark;(h) Ireland;
(i) Greece;
(j) Spain;
(k) Portugal.
2. The tonnages referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply separately to
each of the following products:
(a) Hard coal for coke production;
(b) Hard coal for domestic and small-scale consumption;
(c) Other hard coals;
(d) Furnace coke;
(e) Foundry coke;
(f) Other coke;
(g) Hard coal briquettes;(h) Brown coal briquettes.
3. Upon receipt of an application setting out the reasons therefor the
Commission may, in favour of certain undertakings or selling agencies,
increase the maximum tonnages indicated in paragraphs 1 and 2.
Article 4
1. Alignment shall be permitted only if the undertaking is able to
ascertain exactly the amount of the transport costs to the place of desti-
nation.
2. Where transport costs are not published, the undertaking which is
aligning shall, where necessary, ascertain by examining the actual1972D0443 — EN — 01.07.1986 — 002.001 — 4
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vouchers that the details supplied by the purchaser or carrier
concerning the amount of transport costs are accurate.
Article 5
In calculating the delivery price at the point of destination, undertak-
ings effecting alignment shall take account of all costs to be borne by
the consumer such as trade surcharges, price correctives for ash or
water content, quality surcharges, and other significant factors (e.g.graining, volatile matter content, heating power, sulphur content,coke-producing capacity).
Article 6
1. Coal industry undertakings shall notify alignments within the
common market in which shipping costs are involved. The notificationshall specify the level of costs serving as a basis for the reductioncaused by alignment.
2. The notification shall be made when the contract is concluded. It
shall contain details of the calculation of the aligned price, distin-guishing between loading and freight costs (included port fees,insurance and all other costs charged by the loader).
3. The Commission shall communicate on demand to all undertak-
ings concerned the shipping costs notified to it; it may publish themin an appropriate manner.
Article 7
Undertakings exercising the right to align prices must, on 15 August
and 15 February of each year, inform the Commission of the following:
(a) The tonnages of fuel and the agreed delivery terms for which
supply contracts have been concluded under alignment;
(b) The tonnages of fuel supplied under alignment and on the basis of
their own price list in each of the sales areas listed in Article 3 (1).
Such information shall be communicated in printed form in a manner
to be determined by the Commission.
Article 8
This Decision shall not prevent undertakings from aligning their prices
in accordance with the last subparagraph of Article 60 (2) on condi-
tions offered by undertakings outside the Community.
Article 9
This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 1973. Decision No 3-
58 is hereby repealed with effect from the same date.1972D0443 — EN — 01.07.1986 — 002.001 — 5