Judgment_paragraph 97 · González y Díez, SA v Commission of the European Communities (T-25/04)

97That said, it must be pointed out that, in any event, the Commissions right to revoke a decision on State aid is not restricted solely to the situation referred to in Article 9 of Regulation No 659/1999. That provision is merely a specific expression of the general principle of law according to which retrospective withdrawal of an unlawful administrative act which has created subjective rights is permissible (see, inter alia, Joined Cases 7/56 and 3/57 to 7/57 Algera and Others v Assembly [1957] ECR 39, at 56; Case 14/81 Alpha Steel v Commission [1982] ECR 749, paragraph 10; and Case T-197/99 Gooch v Commission [2000] ECR-SC I-A-271 and II-1247, paragraph 53), in particular if the administrative act at issue was adopted on the basis of false or incomplete information provided by the party concerned (see Case 42/59 and 49/59 S.N.U.P.A.T. v High Authority [1961] ECR 53, at 87). The right to withdraw retroactively an unlawful administrative act which has created subjective rights is not, however, limited to that situation alone, since such a withdrawal may always be carried out provided that the institution which adopted the act complies with the conditions relating to reasonable time-limits and the legitimate expectations of beneficiaries of the act who have been entitled to rely on its lawfulness.

González y Díez, SA v Commission of the European Communities (T-25/04)

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