What changed, Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedi…

+ ## CHAPTER I / SCOPE
+ 
+ ### Article 1 — Subject-matter and scope
+ 
+ This regulation applies to proceedings conducted by the Commission for the application of Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER II / INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS
+ 
+ ### Article 2 — Initiation of proceedings
+ 
+ 1. The Commission may decide to initiate proceedings with a view to adopting a decision pursuant to Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 at any point in time, but no later than the date on which it issues a preliminary assessment as referred to in Article 9(1) of that Regulation or a statement o…
+ 
+ 2. The Commission may make public the initiation of proceedings, in any appropriate way. Before doing so, it shall inform the parties concerned.
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+ 3. The Commission may exercise its powers of investigation pursuant to Chapter V of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 before initiating proceedings.
+ 
+ 4. The Commission may reject a complaint pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 without initiating proceedings.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER III / INVESTIGATIONS BY THE COMMISSION
+ 
+ ### Article 3 — Power to take statements
+ 
+ 1. Where the Commission interviews a person with his consent in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, it shall, at the beginning of the interview, state the legal basis and the purpose of the interview, and recall its voluntary nature. It shall also inform the person interviewed o…
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+ 2. The interview may be conducted by any means including by telephone or electronic means.
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+ 3. The Commission may record the statements made by the persons interviewed in any form. A copy of any recording shall be made available to the person interviewed for approval. Where necessary, the Commission shall set a time-limit within which the person interviewed may communicate to it any correc…
+ 
+ ### Article 4 — Oral questions during inspections
+ 
+ 1. When, pursuant to Article 20(2)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, officials or other accompanying persons authorised by the Commission ask representatives or members of staff of an undertaking or of an association of undertakings for explanations, the explanations given may be recorded in any form…
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+ 2. A copy of any recording made pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be made available to the undertaking or association of undertakings concerned after the inspection.
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+ 3. In cases where a member of staff of an undertaking or of an association of undertakings who is not or was not authorised by the undertaking or by the association of undertakings to provide explanations on behalf of the undertaking or association of undertakings has been asked for explanations, th…
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER IV / HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS
+ 
+ ### Article 5 — Admissibility of complaints
+ 
+ 1. Natural and legal persons shall show a legitimate interest in order to be entitled to lodge a complaint for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003.
+ 
+ Such complaints shall contain the information required by Form C, as set out in the Annex. The Commission may dispense with this obligation as regards part of the information, including documents, required by Form C.
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+ 2. Three paper copies as well as, if possible, an electronic copy of the complaint shall be submitted to the Commission. The complainant shall also submit a non-confidential version of the complaint, if confidentiality is claimed for any part of the complaint.
+ 
+ 3. Complaints shall be submitted in one of the official languages of the Community.
+ 
+ ### Article 6 — Participation of complainants in proceedings
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+ 1. Where the Commission issues a statement of objections relating to a matter in respect of which it has received a complaint, it shall provide the complainant with a copy of the non-confidential version of the statement of objections and set a time-limit within which the complainant may make known …
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+ 2. The Commission may, where appropriate, afford complainants the opportunity of expressing their views at the oral hearing of the parties to which a statement of objections has been issued, if complainants so request in their written comments.
+ 
+ ### Article 7 — Rejection of complaints
+ 
+ 1. Where the Commission considers that on the basis of the information in its possession there are insufficient grounds for acting on a complaint, it shall inform the complainant of its reasons and set a time-limit within which the complainant may make known its views in writing. The Commission shal…
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+ 2. If the complainant makes known its views within the time-limit set by the Commission and the written submissions made by the complainant do not lead to a different assessment of the complaint, the Commission shall reject the complaint by decision.
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+ 3. If the complainant fails to make known its views within the time-limit set by the Commission, the complaint shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
+ 
+ ### Article 8 — Access to information
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+ 1. Where the Commission has informed the complainant of its intention to reject a complaint pursuant to Article 7(1) the complainant may request access to the documents on which the Commission bases its provisional assessment. For this purpose, the complainant may however not have access to business…
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+ 2. The documents to which the complainant has had access in the context of proceedings conducted by the Commission under Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty may only be used by the complainant for the purposes of judicial or administrative proceedings for the application of those Treaty provisions.
+ 
+ ### Article 9 — Rejections of complaints pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003
+ 
+ Where the Commission rejects a complaint pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, it shall inform the complainant without delay of the national competition authority which is dealing or has already dealt with the case.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER V / EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD
+ 
+ ### Article 10 — Statement of objections and reply
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+ 1. The Commission shall inform the parties concerned in writing of the objections raised against them. The statement of objections shall be notified to each of them.
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+ 2. The Commission shall, when notifying the statement of objections to the parties concerned, set a time-limit within which these parties may inform it in writing of their views. The Commission shall not be obliged to take into account written submissions received after the expiry of that time-limit…
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+ 3. The parties may, in their written submissions, set out all facts known to them which are relevant to their defence against the objections raised by the Commission. They shall attach any relevant documents as proof of the facts set out. They shall provide a paper original as well as an electronic …
+ 
+ ### Article 11 — Right to be heard
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+ 1. The Commission shall give the parties to whom it has addressed a statement of objections the opportunity to be heard before consulting the Advisory Committee referred to in Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003.
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+ 2. The Commission shall, in its decisions, deal only with objections in respect of which the parties referred to in paragraph 1 have been able to comment.
+ 
+ ### Article 12 — Right to an oral hearing
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+ The Commission shall give the parties to whom it has addressed a statement of objections the opportunity to develop their arguments at an oral hearing, if they so request in their written submissions.
+ 
+ ### Article 13 — Hearing of other persons
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+ 1. If natural or legal persons other than those referred to in Articles 5 and 11 apply to be heard and show a sufficient interest, the Commission shall inform them in writing of the nature and subject matter of the procedure and shall set a time-limit within which they may make known their views in …
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+ 2. The Commission may, where appropriate, invite persons referred to in paragraph 1 to develop their arguments at the oral hearing of the parties to whom a statement of objections has been addressed, if the persons referred to in paragraph 1 so request in their written comments.
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+ 3. The Commission may invite any other person to express its views in writing and to attend the oral hearing of the parties to whom a statement of objections has been addressed. The Commission may also invite such persons to express their views at that oral hearing.
+ 
+ ### Article 14 — Conduct of oral hearings
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+ 1. Hearings shall be conducted by a Hearing Officer in full independence.
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+ 2. The Commission shall invite the persons to be heard to attend the oral hearing on such date as it shall determine.
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+ 3. The Commission shall invite the competition authorities of the Member States to take part in the oral hearing. It may likewise invite officials and civil servants of other authorities of the Member States.
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+ 4. Persons invited to attend shall either appear in person or be represented by legal representatives or by representatives authorised by their constitution as appropriate. Undertakings and associations of undertakings may also be represented by a duly authorised agent appointed from among their per…
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+ 5. Persons heard by the Commission may be assisted by their lawyers or other qualified persons admitted by the Hearing Officer.
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+ 6. Oral hearings shall not be public. Each person may be heard separately or in the presence of other persons invited to attend, having regard to the legitimate interest of the undertakings in the protection of their business secrets and other confidential information.
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+ 7. The Hearing Officer may allow the parties to whom a statement of objections has been addressed, the complainants, other persons invited to the hearing, the Commission services and the authorities of the Member States to ask questions during the hearing.
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+ 8. The statements made by each person heard shall be recorded. Upon request, the recording of the hearing shall be made available to the persons who attended the hearing. Regard shall be had to the legitimate interest of the parties in the protection of their business secrets and other confidential …
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER VI / ACCESS TO THE FILE AND TREATMENT OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
+ 
+ ### Article 15 — Access to the file and use of documents
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+ 1. If so requested, the Commission shall grant access to the file to the parties to whom it has addressed a statement of objections. Access shall be granted after the notification of the statement of objections.
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+ 2. The right of access to the file shall not extend to business secrets, other confidential information and internal documents of the Commission or of the competition authorities of the Member States. The right of access to the file shall also not extend to correspondence between the Commission and …
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+ 3. Nothing in this Regulation prevents the Commission from disclosing and using information necessary to prove an infringement of Articles 81 or 82 of the Treaty.
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+ 4. Documents obtained through access to the file pursuant to this Article shall only be used for the purposes of judicial or administrative proceedings for the application of Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty.
+ 
+ ### Article 16 — Identification and protection of confidential information
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+ 1. Information, including documents, shall not be communicated or made accessible by the Commission in so far as it contains business secrets or other confidential information of any person.
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+ 2. Any person which makes known its views pursuant to Article 6(1), Article 7(1), Article 10(2) and Article 13(1) and (3) or subsequently submits further information to the Commission in the course of the same procedure, shall clearly identify any material which it considers to be confidential, givi…
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+ 3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, the Commission may require undertakings and associations of undertakings which produce documents or statements pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 to identify the documents or parts of documents which they consider to contain business secrets or…
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+ The Commission may set a time-limit within which the undertakings and associations of undertakings are to:
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+ (a) substantiate their claim for confidentiality with regard to each individual document or part of document, statement or part of statement;
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+ (b) provide the Commission with a non-confidential version of the documents or statements, in which the confidential passages are deleted;
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+ (c) provide a concise description of each piece of deleted information.
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+ 4. If undertakings or associations of undertakings fail to comply with paragraphs 2 and 3, the Commission may assume that the documents or statements concerned do not contain confidential information.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER VII / GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
+ 
+ ### Article 17 — Time-limits
+ 
+ 1. In setting the time-limits provided for in Article 3(3), Article 4(3), Article 6(1), Article 7(1), Article 10(2) and Article 16(3), the Commission shall have regard both to the time required for preparation of the submission and to the urgency of the case.
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+ 2. The time-limits referred to in Article 6(1), Article 7(1) and Article 10(2) shall be at least four weeks. However, for proceedings initiated with a view to adopting interim measures pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, the time-limit may be shortened to one week.
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+ 3. The time-limits referred to in Article 3(3), Article 4(3) and Article 16(3) shall be at least two weeks.
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+ 4. Where appropriate and upon reasoned request made before the expiry of the original time-limit, time-limits may be extended.
+ 
+ ### Article 18 — Repeals
+ 
+ Regulations (EC) No 2842/98, (EC) No 2843/98 and (EC) No 3385/94 are repealed.
+ 
+ References to the repealed regulations shall be construed as references to this regulation.
+ 
+ ### Article 19 — Transitional provisions
+ 
+ Procedural steps taken under Regulations (EC) No 2842/98 and (EC) No 2843/98 shall continue to have effect for the purpose of applying this Regulation.
+ 
+ ### Article 20 — Entry into force
+ 
+ This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 May 2004.
+ 
+ This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
+ 
+ ### ANNEX
+ 
+ FORM C
+ 
+ COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION (EC) No 1/2003
+ 
+ I. **Information regarding the complainant and the undertaking(s) or association of undertakings giving rise to the complaint**
+ 
+ | 1. | Give full details on the identity of the legal or natural person submitting the complaint. Where the complainant is an undertaking, identify the corporate group to which it belongs and provide a concise overview of the nature and scope of its business activities. Provide a contact person (wit…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | 2. | Identify the undertaking(s) or association of undertakings whose conduct the complaint relates to, including, where applicable, all available information on the corporate group to which the undertaking(s) complained of belong and the nature and scope of the business activities pursued by them…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ II. **Details of the alleged infringement and evidence**
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+ | 3. | Set out in detail the facts from which, in your opinion, it appears that there exists an infringement of Article 81 or 82 of the Treaty and/or Article 53 or 54 of the EEA agreement. Indicate in particular the nature of the products (goods or services) affected by the alleged infringements and…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | 4. | Submit all documentation in your possession relating to or directly connected with the facts set out in the complaint (for example, texts of agreements, minutes of negotiations or meetings, terms of transactions, business documents, circulars, correspondence, notes of telephone conversations……
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | 5. | Set out your view about the geographical scope of the alleged infringement and explain, where that is not obvious, to what extent trade between Member States or between the Community and one or more EFTA States that are contracting parties of the EEA Agreement may be affected by the conduct c…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ III. **Finding sought from the Commission and legitimate interest**
+ 
+ | 6. | Explain what finding or action you are seeking as a result of proceedings brought by the Commission. |
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | 7. | Set out the grounds on which you claim a legitimate interest as complainant pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003. State in particular how the conduct complained of affects you and explain how, in your view, intervention by the Commission would be liable to remedy the alleged gri…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ IV. **Proceedings before national competition authorities or national courts**
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+ | 8. | Provide full information about whether you have approached, concerning the same or closely related subject-matters, any other competition authority and/or whether a lawsuit has been brought before a national court. If so, provide full details about the administrative or judicial authority con…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ Declaration that the information given in this form and in the Annexes thereto is given entirely in good faith.
+ 
+ Date and signature.
+ 
+ (1) OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 411/2004 (OJ L 68, 6.3.2004, p. 1).
+ 
+ (2) OJ L 354, 30.12.1998, p. 18.
+ 
+ (3) OJ L 354, 30.12.1998, p. 22.
− ### document
+ (4) OJ L 377, 31.12.1994, p. 28.
− Avis juridique important | 32004R0773 Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty (Text with EEA relevance) Official Journal L 123 , 27/04/2004 P. 0018 - 0024 Commission Regulation (EC…