77/595/ECSC: Commission Decision of 27 July 1977 concerning checks to be made pursuant to the second sentence of the first paragraph of Article 47 of the ECSC Treaty at Stahlwerke Röchling-Burbach GmbH, Völklingen/Saar (Only the German text is authentic)

COMMISSION DECISION  of 27 July 1977  concerning checks to be made pursuant to the second sentence of the first paragraph of Article 47 of the ECSC Treaty at Stahlwerke Rรถchling-Burbach GmbH, Vรถlklingen/Saar  (Only the German text is authentic)  (77/595/ECSC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, and in particular Articles 47, 65, 80 and 81 thereof,
Whereas:
On the basis of complaints and of its own inquiries, the Commission has reason to believe that agreements or concerted practices have been and still are being applied on the common market for steel in such a way as to restrict or distort normal competition within the meaning of Article 65 (1) of the ECSC Treaty. In particular there are grounds for suspecting that there have been and still are agreements or concerted practices between steel-producing undertakings, between steel-distributing undertakings and between steel-producing and distributing undertakings, fixing production and supply quotas, supply channels and prices and sharing out markets.
In order to ascertain the facts, the Director-General for Competition has ordered checks to be made at a number of steel-producing or distributing undertakings pursuant to the second sentence of the first paragraph of Article 47 of the ECSC Treaty.
The investigation at Stahlwerke Rรถchling-Burbach GmbH, Vรถlklingen, planned for 7 September 1976, was to have extended to books and papers which were withheld from officials of the Federal Cartel Office during an investigation carried out on 25 August 1976 at the same undertaking, of the grounds that the Federal Cartel Office had no authority in respect of the relevant products. However, Commission investigators discovered during their investigation that the files described by the Federal Cartel Office were no longer kept in the Richardstraรe 12 premises.
The company's management stated that the books and papers had been destroyed on its instructions.
The fact that no written explanation of this behaviour, as required by the Commission and promised by the undertaking, was ever provided, despite a written reminder on 21 September 1976, gives grounds for suspecting that the books and papers in which the Commission is interested are being kept elsewhere. It is accordingly necessary, to require the undertaking by Decision to submit them for inspection.
The undertaking must guarantee that the Commission officials carrying out the investigation will be permitted, during normal office hours, to enter its premises, to inspect the books and papers described in Article 1, to take copies and photocopies as they may require, and to call for immediate verbal and written explanations regarding the matter under investigation.
Article 47 of the ECSC Treaty, the full text of which is annexed hereto, empowers the Commission to impose fines of up to one per cent of annual turnover, or periodic penalty payments of up to five per cent of average daily turnover for each day's delay on undertakings which evade their obligations under decisions taken in pursuance of that Article, or which knowingly furnish false information,