Case T-566/08: Judgment of the General Court of 13 September 2013 — Total Raffinage Marketing v Commission (Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Paraffin waxes market — Slack wax market — Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC — Price-fixing and market-sharing — Proof of the existence of the cartel — Concept of a single and continuous infringement — Duration of the infringement — Interruption of the infringement — 2006 Guidelines on the method of setting fines — Equal treatment — Presumption of innocence — Attributability of the unlawful conduct — Liability of a parent company for infringements of the competition rules committed by its subsidiaries — Decisive influence exercised by the parent company — Presumption where the parent company holds 100 % of the shares — Proportionality — Rounding method — Unlimited jurisdiction)
Date: 2013-09-13
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: equal treatment, fine, infringement of EU law, jurisdiction, market-sharing agreement, price agreement, principle of proportionality, rights of the defence, subsidiary








C_2013313EN.01001802.xml










26.10.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 313/18





Judgment of the General Court of 13 September 2013 — Total Raffinage Marketing v Commission
(Case T-566/08) (1)

(Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Paraffin waxes market - Slack wax market - Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC - Price-fixing and market-sharing - Proof of the existence of the cartel - Concept of a single and continuous infringement - Duration of the infringement - Interruption of the infringement - 2006 Guidelines on the method of setting fines - Equal treatment - Presumption of innocence - Attributability of the unlawful conduct - Liability of a parent company for infringements of the competition rules committed by its subsidiaries - Decisive influence exercised by the parent company - Presumption where the parent company holds 100 % of the shares - Proportionality - Rounding method - Unlimited jurisdiction)
2013/C 313/33
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicant: Total Raffinage Marketing (Puteaux, France) (represented by: A. Vandencasteele, C. Falmagne, C. Lemaire and S. Naudin, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: F. Castillo de la Torre and A. Biolan, acting as Agents, and by N. Coutrelis, lawyer)

Re:

Primarily, application for annulment in part of Commission Decision C(2008) 5476 final of 1 October 2008, relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/39.181 — Candle waxes), and, in the alternative, application for reduction of the fine imposed on the applicant.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Orders the fine imposed on Total Raffinage Marketing in Article 2 of Commission Decision C(2008) 5476 final of 1 October 2008, relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/39.181 — Candle waxes) to be set at EUR 125 459 842;










2.


Dismisses the action as to the remainder;










3.


Orders Total Raffinage Marketing to bear nine-tenths of its own costs and to pay nine-tenths of the costs of the European Commission. The European Commission is to bear one-tenth of its own costs and to pay one-tenth of the costs incurred by Total Raffinage Marketing.






(1)  OJ C 55, 7.3.2009.