48According to the applicant, the fact of imposing a maximum fine on an SME is contrary to the principles laid down by the case-law and the Commissions Guidelines. The Court of First Instance has endorsed the latter, stating that it may be appropriate to apply weightings ‘especially where there is considerable disparity in the sizes of the undertakings that have committed an infringement of the same nature and to make consequential adjustments to the basic amount depending on the specific characteristics of each undertaking’ (Case T-48/98 Acerinox v Commission [2001] ECR II-3859, paragraph 80). In Acerinox, the Court also rejected the argument put forward by one of the applicants, based on the smallness of its market shares on the ground that essentially account should be taken of its ‘size’ and its ‘economic strength’ (paragraphs 89 and 90). Thus, the Court emphasised that it was essential to take account of the size of the undertaking, regardless of its market shares. In the present case, the Commission failed totally to take account of the fact that the applicant is a particularly modest SME and that there is a ‘considerable disparity’ between the sizes of the various undertakings involved.
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