Judgment of the General Court (Ninth Chamber) of 29 February 2016 —

Panalpina World Transport (Holding) and Others v Commission

(Case T‑270/12)

‛Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — International air freight forwarding services — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU — Price fixing — Surcharges and charging mechanisms affecting the final price — Fines — Proportionality — Gravity of the infringement — Equal treatment — Obligation to state reasons — Settlement — 2006 Guidelines on the method of setting fines’

1. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Discretion of the Commission — Judicial review — Unlimited jurisdiction of the EU judicature — Scope (Art. 261 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 31) (see paras 26-29)

2. Competition — Transport — Competition rules — Air transport — Regulation No 17 — Scope — Activities directly concerning the provision of air transport services — Not included — Activities not concerning the air transport market itself, but an upstream or downstream market — Inclusion (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulations No 17 and No 141, third recital and Art. 1) (see paras 33, 34, 39-43, 64)

3. Competition — Fines — Decision imposing fines — Obligation to state reasons — Scope — Indication of the factors which led the Commission to assess the gravity and the duration of the infringement — Sufficient indication (Arts 101 TFEU and 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3)) (see paras 76-80)

4. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Determination of the base amount — Determination of the value of sales — Sales carried out in direct or indirect relation to the infringement — Possibility of the Commission departing from the general calculation method — Account taken of the particular features of a case — Existence of a cartel concerning an upstream market — None (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, points 5, 6 and 13) (see paras 92, 94, 98, 114, 147-149, 152, 201)

5. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Determination of the base amount — Determination of the value of sales — Gravity of the infringement — Determination of the fine in proportion to the factors for assessment of the gravity of the infringement — Overall turnover of the undertaking concerned — Turnover corresponding to the goods covered by the infringement — To be taken into consideration — Limits (Art. 101 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights, Art. 49(3); Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, point 13) (see paras 102-107, 158-160, 165, 166)

6. Competition — Fines — Guidelines on the method of setting fines — Legal nature — Indicative rule of conduct implying a self-limitation on the discretion of the Commission — Possibility of the Commission departing therefrom — Conditions (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, points 13 and 37) (see paras 109, 110)

7. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Determination of the base amount — Determination of the value of sales — Sales carried out in direct or indirect relation to the infringement — Inclusion of costs inherent to the prices of the goods and services sold (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, point 13) (see paras 130, 131, 135)

8. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Determination of the base amount — Determination of the value of sales — Sales carried out in direct or indirect relation to the infringement — Cartel in the international freight forwarding sector — Cartel covering transport services as a block of services — Account taken of the value of sales realised with transport services as a block of services — Lawfulness (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, point 13) (see para. 136)

9. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Determination of the base amount — Determination of the value of sales — Sales carried out in direct or indirect relation to the infringement — Limitation to sales actually carried out by the cartel — None (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, point 13) (see paras 139, 140, 143)

10. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Principle of equal treatment — Commission’s decision-making practice — Indicative nature (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, point 13) (see para. 178)

11. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Plea not supported by precise arguments — Inadmissibility (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court (1991), Art. 44(1)(c)) (see para. 185)

12. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Criteria — Gravity of the infringement — Horizontal cartel concerning prices — Very serious infringement (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, points 23 and 25) (see para. 200)

13. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Adjustment of the basic amount — Mitigating circumstances — Existence of a cartel concerning an upstream market — Absence (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 2006/C 210/02, point 29) (see para. 201)

14. Competition — Administrative procedure — Settlement procedure — Opening — Discretion of the Commission — Scope (Art. 101 TFEU; Commission Regulations No 773/2004, Art. 10a(1), and No 622/2008, fourth recital; Commission Notice 2008/C 167/01) (see paras 209, 210, 215, 219, 223, 226, 229, 232)

Re:

APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Decision C(2012) 1959 final of 28 March 2012 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 [TFEU] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/39462 — Freight forwarding), in so far as it concerns the applicants, and for variation of the fines imposed on them in that decision.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;