No C 29/32 Official  Journal  of the  European  Communities 12. 5. 73 
COMMUNICATION  OF  THE  COMMISSION 
relating  to the  amended  text,  as it is now  in force,  of Decision  No 31-53:  Conditions 
of publication  of price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  applied  by the  undertakings  of the 
steel  industries 
The rules  relating  to the  conditions  of publication 
of price  lists  and  conditions  of sale,  prescribed  by 
Article  60 (2)  (a)  of the  ECSC  treaty  have  been 
defined  by the High  Authority  as far as concerns  the 
undertakings  of the  steel  industries,  in its Decision 
No 31-53  of 2 May  1953  (Official  Journal  of the 
ECSC,  4 May  1953,  p. 111). 
This  Decision  has  been  completed  and  amended  by 
1. Decision  No  32-53  of 20  May  1953  (Official 
Journal  of the ECSC,  21 May  1953,  p. 130); 
2. Decision  No  2-54  of 7 January  1954  (Official 
Journal  of the  ECSC,  13 January  1954,  p. 218) 
whose  first  article  has  been  cancelled  by  the 
judgment  of the  Court  of Justice,  given  in the 
case 1-54  of 21 December  1954  (Official  Journal 
of the ECSC,  of 11 January  1955,  p. 547); 
3. Decision  No 32-56  of 21 November  1956  (Official 
Journal  of the  ECSC,  of 25 November  1956,  p. 
333/56); 
4. Decision  No 20-63  of 11 December  1963  (Official 
Journal  of the European  Communities,  of  24 De-
cember  1963,  p.2972/63)  and 
5. Decision  No  72/441/ECSC  of 22 December  1972 
(Official  Journal  of the  European  Communities, 
30 December  1972,  No L 297,  p. 42). 
To facilitate  consultation  of these  regulations  by the 
interested  parties,  the  amended  text  of Decision  No 
31-53,  applicable  from  1 January  1973,  is given 
below: 
Article  I 
1. Undertakings  in the  steel  industry  shall  publish 
their  price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  in accordance 
with  the provisions  of this  Decision. 
2. Undertakings  which  use  selling  agencies  (Article 
1 (2)  of Decision  No  30-53)  for  the  marketing  of 
their  products,  shall  ensure  that  those  selling  agencies 
publish  price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  in accord-
ance  with  the previsions  of this  Decision. 
3. Undertakings  in the steel  industry  may,  under  the 
conditions  laid  down  in Article  4, specify  that  their products  are  sold  on the  basis  of the  price  lists  and 
conditions  of sale  of their  selling  agency.  The  selling 
agency  may  likewise  specify  that  products  are sold  on 
the basis  of the  price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  of 
the undertaking. 
4. Iron  ore  undertakings  shall  remain  subject  to the 
provisions  of Decision  No 4-53  of 12 February  1953. 
Article  2 
All price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  published  shall 
contain  the following  information: 
(a) basic  prices  according  to category  of products,  or 
basic  prices  for  each  grade  and  category  of pro-
ducts; 
(b) extras  which  are applied,  indicating 
— extras  for size  and  length, 
— extras  for grades  and  quality, 
— quantity  extras  and  rebates  for  each  sample 
and/or  for each  specified  order, 
— tolerances  not liable  to surcharge, 
— extras  for reduced  tolerances; 
— also  surcharges  and  increases  normally  applied 
in connection  with  delivery  of the  various 
products; 
(c) place  of delivery; 
(d) method  of quotation; 
(e) costs  in connection  with  method  of shipment; 
(f) where  they  are applied: 
— quantity  rebates  granted  subsequently  in 
respect  of quantities  actually  supplied  over  a 
period  of not less  than  one  year; 
— discounts,  rebates,  premiums  or any  other 
kind  of benefit  to dealers,  selling  agencies  or 
users; 
(g) terms  of payment; 
12. 5.73 Official  Journal  of the  European  Communities No C 29/33 
(h) nature  and  amount  of taxes  and  other  charges 
additional  to the  prices  on the  price  lists,  under 
the terms  offered  to purchasers; 
(i) where  the  conditions  which  apply  to the  trans-
action  relate  to the price  list in force  on the  day 
on which  the order  is placed  and  may  be subject 
to revision: 
— the  circumstances  in which  such  revision  may 
occur. 
Article  3 
Price  lists  of an undertaking  shall  not  contain  prices 
for products  which  are  not  actually  offered  on the 
market  by that  undertaking. 
Article  4 
1. (a)  Price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  shall  apply 
not earlier  than  two  clear  days  after  they  have 
been  addressed  to the Commission; 
(b) Sellers  shall,  upon  request,  communicate 
them  to anyone  interested; 
(c) The  Commission  may  decide  to publish  such 
price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  by means  of 
a special  publication. 
2. Paragraph  1 shall  apply  equally  to any  amend-
ment  of price  lists  and  conditions  of sale. 
Article  S 
1. Undertakings  in the steel  industry  need  not  pub-
lish in their  price  lists  price  differentials  applied  to 
individual  consumer  groups. 
2. Where  such  differentials  are applied,  undertakings 
shall,  however,  notify  them  to the  Commission. 
Article  4 of this  Decision  shall  apply. 
3. Where  it is established  that  the  number  or the 
volume  of the  differentials  make  publication  necess-
ary, the  Commission  may  require  any  undertaking 
in the iron  and  steel  industry  to publish  in their  price 
lists some  or all of the differentials  applied. 
Article  6 
1. Undertakings  and  their  selling  agencies  shall 
require  middlemen  who  sell  in their  own  name  but on behalf  of  the  said  undertakings  and  selling 
agencies  (commission  agents,  agents  for  goods  on 
consignment)  to comply,  as regards  price  lists  and 
conditions  of sale  published  by them,  with  the  rules 
laid down  in this  Decision. 
2. Where  such  middlemen  do not  publish  price  lists 
and conditions  of sale,  they  may  discharge  their 
obligation  by specifying,  under  the  conditions  laid 
down  in Article  4, that  the price  lists  and  conditions 
of sale  applied  by  undertakings  or their  selling 
agencies,  in accordance  with  this  Decision,  also  apply 
to sales  made  by them. 
3. Undertakings  shall  be held  liable  for any  infringe-
ment  of the  foregoing  obligations  by such  middle-
men. 
Article  7 
1. Undertakings  and  their  selling  agencies  shall 
frame  their  conditions  of sale  in such  a way  that 
their  customers  (dealers)  are  under  an obligation, 
in the case  of resale  in the unaltered  state  otherwise 
than  by sale  ex depot,  to ensure  that  their  price  lists 
and conditions  of sale  comply  with  the  rules  laid 
down  in this  Decision. 
2. In so far  as customers  (dealers)  do not  include 
in their  lists  their  own  prices  and  conditions  of sale, 
they may  discharge  their  obligation  by  indicating 
under  the  conditions  laid  down  in Article  4, those 
items  of the price  lists  and  conditions  of sale  applied 
by the  producer  undertakings  in accordance  with 
this Decision,  which  apply  to sales  made  by them. 
Article  8 
Undertakings  in the  steel  industry  need  not  publish 
their  prices  for the following  products: 
1. Steelmaking  pig iron, 
2. Single  purpose  steel  sections, 
3. Organically  coated  sheet  steel  (sheet  steel  plastic-
coated  or pre-lacquered), 
4. Second  class  and  off-grade  products, 
5. Steels  of non-standard  character  containing  less 
than  0-6°/o  of carbon,  the chemical  and  mechani-
cal properties  of which  are  not  of themselves 
sufficient  to enable  comparisons  to be made  be-
tween  them; 
6. Steels  of like  character,  known  as 'physical'  or 
'magnetic'  steels,  having  certain  electrical  and 
magnetic  properties.