Order of the General Court (First Chamber) of 12 March 2012 — Universal v Commission

(Case T‑42/11)

Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Italian market for the purchase and first processing of raw tobacco — Request that the parent company pay the fine — Bank guarantee lodged in the name of the subsidiary — Date on which the fine becomes due for payment — Action for annulment — Measure not open to challenge — Inadmissibility

1.                     Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Concept — Measures producing binding legal effects — Commission letters calling upon the addressee to pay a fine, plus default interest, imposed for breach of the competition rules — Measures preparatory to pure implementation measures — Inadmissibility (Art. 263 TFEU) (see paras 20-21, 27-28, 32)

2.                     Competition — Fines — Discretion of the Commission — Scope — Power to fix the methods of payment of the fines — Imposition of interest for delay (Art. 299 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2)) (see paras 29‑30)

3.                     Union law — Principles — Right to effective judicial protection — Action for annulment against measures not producing binding legal effects inadmissible — Possibility of parties challenging such measures by an action in non-contractual liability of the Union (Arts 268 TFEU, 299, fourth para., TFEU and 340, second para., TFEU) (see paras 43-45)

Re:

APPLICATION for annulment of the decision allegedly contained in the Commission’s letters of 12 and 30 November 2010 in which the Commission requested the applicant to pay the amount of the fine that had been imposed on it, jointly and severally with its subsidiary Deltafina SpA, by Commission Decision C(2005) 4012 final of 20 October 2005 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] (Case COMP/C.38.281/B2 — Raw Tobacco — Italy).

Operative part

1. The action is dismissed as inadmissible.

2. Universal Corp. is ordered to pay the costs.