CELEX: C1995/208/64
Language: en
Date: 1995-08-12 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 10 May 1995 by Società Cementerie del Tirreno SpA against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-116/95)

No C 208/30          EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                   12 . 8 . 95
    22 July 1993 and 3 August 1994 ( or, in the case of three       Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
    of the applicants, 29 June 1994 ) interest amounting to
    8 % of the amount of compensation paid to them in
    addition to 8 % thereon from delivery of the                    In connection with its investigation of European cement
    judgment,                                                       producers ( Cases IV/33.126 and 33.322 — Cement), the
                                                                    Commission asked Cementir to produce figures for its
— order the defendant to pay the costs of the proceedings           invoicing of grey cement and clinker for 1992 and 1993 . In
    and in particular the lawyers' costs .                          compliance with that request, Cementir communicated to
                                                                    the Commission figures which erroneously included
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                 amounts relating to supplies of goods and services that were
                                                                    completely different from sales of grey cement and clinker.
                                                                    Cementir became aware of the error only on examining the
The applicant producers, who accepted the compensation              Decision which concluded that investigation ( Commission
offered to them by the competent German authority within            Decision No 94/815/EC of 30 November 1994 ), whereupon
the two-month period under Article 14 of Council                    it informed the Commission that the invoicing figures
Regulation ( EEC ) No 2187/93 providing for an offer of             previously supplied were too high by reason of an
compensation to certain producers of milk and milk                  accounting error . At the same time, the company attached
products temporarily prevented from carrying on their               an accountants' certificate identifying and quantifying the
trade, are claiming compensation for the damage suffered by         amounts erroneously added to the cement invoices and
them on the ground that the interest on delayed payment             determining the exact invoicing figure which the
provided for in Article 12 of that Regulation in the amount         Commission should have used in calculating the fine
of 8 % of the amount of compensation was not paid for the           imposed on Cementir .
whole of the period in respect of which they were entitled .
The Commission substantiated its refusal to pay the interest
claimed by the fact that the applicants were too late in
withdrawing their proceedings for compensation brought              By letter from the Director-General for Competition of
before the Court in 1990 .                                          2 March 1995 , the Commission rejected that request for
                                                                    rectification . That decision of rejection        forms the
The applicants take the view that the payment of the interest       subject-matter of the present action .
at issue cannot depend on the date of withdrawal of
proceedings, which is merely a formal step, since no such
condition is contained in Regulation ( EEC ) No 2187/93 .           Cementir argues that the decision should be annulled for the
                                                                    following reasons :
                                                                    — In its decision, the Commission took into consideration,
                                                                        for the calculation of the fine imposed on Cementir,
                                                                        invoicing which was erroneous because it included
Action brought on 10 May 1995 by Societa Cementerie del                 amounts that had nothing to do with sales of grey
Tirreno SpA against the Commission of the European                      cement and clinker, the subject-matter of the dispute .
                         Communities                                    The Commission 's assertions in its letter of 2 March
                      ( Case T-l 16/95 )                                1995 , implicitly acknowledging the error in calculation
                                                                        but attempting to dispute its relevance for the purposes
                        ( 95/C 208/64 )                                 of determining the fine and thus for the request for
                                                                        rectification, appear to be unfounded and irrelevant.
                (Language of the case: Italian)
                                                                    — The Commission 's refusal to amend the amount of the
An action against the Commission of the European                        fine on the basis of the corrected invoicing figures,
 Communities was brought before the Court of First                      which, moreover, the Commission has not disputed,
Instance of the European Communities on 10 May 1995 by                  seriously penalizes Cementir without justification. In the
 Societa Cementerie del Tirreno SpA ('Cementir'), having its            event, the fine has been calculated on the basis of
registered office in Rome, represented by Gian Michele                  erroneous figures and is thus disproportionate; it has
 Roberti and Antonio Tizzano, both of the Naples Bar, with              also been calculated on        a different    and    more
 an address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of                unfavourable basis than         that used      for   other
 Alain Lorang, 51 Rue Albert l cr.                                      undertakings which merely communicated the figures
                                                                        for grey cement sales, thereby breaching the principle of
The applicant claims that the Court should :                            equality of treatment.
— annul the decision of rejection contained in the
     Commission's letter of 2 March 1995 , and
 — order the Commission to pay the costs .