131Moreover, it has been held at paragraph 63 above that whilst, under the system established by Regulation No 17, the Commission's power to find an infringement arises only implicitly, that is to the extent that the express powers to order cessation of the infringement and to impose fines necessarily implies it (GVL v Commission, paragraph 23), such an implied power is nevertheless not solely dependent on the exercise by the institution of those express powers. Accordingly, the fact that the Commission no longer has the power to impose fines on persons committing an infringement on account of the expiry of the limitation period referred to in Article 1(1) of Regulation No 2988/74 does not in itself preclude the adoption of a decision finding that that past infringement has been committed.
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