4The General Court set out the factual background to the dispute in paragraphs 1 to 21 of the judgment under appeal as follows:1 By an unpublished decision of 25 November 1994 (Case IV/35.304), adopted, in particular, on the basis of Article 14(3) of Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962: First Regulation implementing Articles [81 EC] and [82 EC] (OJ, English Special Edition 1959-1962, p. 87), the Commission decided to initiate an investigation into the possible existence of anticompetitive practices in respect of carbon-steel tubes which might infringe Article 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area [of 2 May 1992 (OJ 1994 L 1, p. 3)] and Article 81 EC.2 Following that investigation, the Commission decided, on 20 January 1999, to initiate administrative proceedings in Case IV/E-1/35.860-B-Seamless steel tubes, as a result of which it adopted, on 8 December 1999, Decision 2003/382/EC relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] (Case IV/E-1/35.860-B-Seamless steel tubes) (OJ 2003 L 140, p. 1) (“the cartel decision”).3 According to Article 1(1) of the cartel decision, the eight undertakings to which it was addressed “have infringed the provisions of Article 81(1) [EC] by participating ... in an agreement providing, inter alia, for the observance of their respective domestic markets for seamless standard threaded [Oil Country Tubular Goods] pipes and tubes and project line pipe”. Article 1(2) of the cartel decision states that the infringement lasted from 1990 to 1995 in the case of Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG, Vallourec SA, Dalmine SpA, Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd, Nippon Steel Corp., Kawasaki Steel Corp. and NKK Corp. In the case of British Steel Ltd, the infringement is stated to have lasted from 1990 to February 1994. Those undertakings were accordingly fined amounts ranging from EUR 8.1 million to EUR 13.5 million.4 The cartel decision was the subject of Commission press release IP/99/957 of 8 December 1999 and was published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 6 June 2003.5 On 8 July 2004, the Court, in its judgment in Joined Cases T-67/00, T-68/00, T-71/00 and T-78/00 JFE Engineering and Others v Commission [2004] ECR II-2501, annulled Article 1(2) of the cartel decision in so far as the Commission had incorrectly stated that four of the undertakings mentioned in that article had participated in the cartel prior to 1 January 1991 and after 30 June 1994, and reduced the amounts of the fines which the Commission had imposed on those undertakings.6 In addition, following a complaint lodged on 19 July 1996 by the Defence Committee of the Seamless Steel Tube Industry of the European Union, the Commission, pursuant to … Regulation … No 384/96 … , as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2331/96 of 2 December 1996 (OJ 1996 L 317, p. 1), published, on 31 August 1996, a notice of the initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes of iron or non-alloy steel originating in Russia, the Czech Republic, Romania and the Slovak Republic (OJ 1996 C 253, p. 26).7 On 29 May 1997, the Commission adopted Regulation (EC) No 981/97 imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes of iron or non-alloy steel originating in Russia, the Czech Republic, Romania and the Slovak Republic (OJ 1997 L 141, p. 36).8 On 17 November 1997, the Council adopted … the definitive regulation …9 On 16 July 2004, the Council adopted Regulation … No 1322/2004 … Under Article 1 of that regulation, an Article 8 was added to the definitive regulation, by virtue of which Article 1 of the definitive regulation, which imposes anti-dumping duties on the imports which it covers, was, from 21 July 2004, no longer to be applied.10 Trubowest … is a German company which imported seamless pipes and tubes of Russian origin into the Community. Trubowest, of which Mr … Makarov has been the managing director since 1997, started to import those goods in January 1999 and ceased doing so in October 1999. …11 In addition, from 1992 Mr Makarov was also the managing director of the company Truboimpex Handel GmbH (“Truboimpex”), the commercial activity of which consisted in importing from 1996, inter alia on its own behalf, seamless tubes and seamless pipes of Russian origin into the Community.12 On 15 October 1999, the Amtsgericht Kleve (Local Court, Cleves, Germany) issued an arrest warrant against, inter alios, Mr Makarov on the ground that he was “strongly suspected of having provided the tax authorities in Cologne and Emmerich, in the period from 1997 to 1999, with incorrect and incomplete information concerning important tax matters, [the] returns constituting 36 separate infringements, and of having thereby reduced [his] taxes, in order to obtain for [himself] or for other persons unjustified tax advantages, thereby enabling [him] to a considerable extent to evade import duties”. The arrest warrant further states that “[on] that occasion, the [tubes and pipes from Russia imported by Truboimpex and Trubowest] were the subject of false declarations designed to circumvent the provisions [of the definitive regulation]”.13 Pursuant to that arrest warrant, Mr Makarov was placed in custody from 27 October 1999 until 12 November 1999. On his release, Mr Makarov was made subject to measures restricting his freedom of movement under which he was, inter alia, required to present himself at the relevant police station three times a week until 31 January 2000 and was unable to travel abroad without prior authorisation (“the measures in restraint of freedom”).14 As from 27 October 1999, the Hauptzollamt Emmerich (Principal Customs Office, Emmerich, Germany), now the Hauptzollamt Duisburg (Principal Customs Office, Duisburg, Germany) notified the applicants of post-clearance notices of assessment requiring payment of anti-dumping duties relating to the imports carried out by Truboimpex and Trubowest during the period from December 1997 to October 1999. The German customs authorities essentially took the view that the applicants’ imports had, incorrectly, not been classified under the Community nomenclature codes for seamless pipes and tubes covered by the definitive regulation. In those circumstances, the bank accounts of Trubowest and Mr Makarov were seized.15 According to the German customs authorities, Truboimpex and Trubowest were thus liable, in respect of the outstanding anti-dumping duties, to pay EUR 1575181,86 and EUR 729538,78 respectively, that is to say, a total of EUR 2304720,64, in anti-dumping duties not paid by those two companies. Furthermore, Mr Makarov was held liable, in his capacity as managing director of Trubowest and Truboimpex, for payment of the total amount owed by those companies.16 From 16 and 17 November 1999, the applicants challenged before the Hauptzollamt Emmerich the post-clearance assessment notices for anti-dumping duties issued against Trubowest and Mr Makarov in accordance with Article 243 of [the CCC] and the applicable national law. On 15 December 2000, the applicants brought an action before the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf (Finance Court, Düsseldorf, Germany) seeking suspension of the notices of assessment which were immediately enforceable. On 30 October 2001, the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf dismissed the applicants’ action. On 29 August 2003, the applicants lodged submissions before the Hauptzollamt Duisburg in which they argued, essentially, that the customs authorities had erred in taking the view that their imports came within the scope of the definitive regulation.17 On 19 June 2000, the Staatsanwaltschaft Kleve (Public Prosecutor’s Office, Cleves, Germany) issued an indictment (Anklageschrift) against Mr Makarov on the basis of false customs returns relating to imports by Trubowest and Truboimpex. In that indictment, the Staatsanwaltschaft Kleve essentially took the view that a total amount of DEM 4376250,25, equivalent to EUR 2237541,22, was owed in respect of customs duties evaded in connection with the imports by Trubowest and Truboimpex.18 On 14 November 2002, the Landgericht Kleve (Regional Court, Cleves, Germany) stayed the criminal proceedings against Mr Makarov pending the outcome of the fiscal proceedings concerning him.19 On 15 December 2004, the applicants concluded a settlement agreement with the Hauptzollamt Duisburg, which brought to an end the dispute between them and the German customs authorities.20 The settlement agreement provides, in particular, as follows:“Preamble…By means of this Statement the parties wish to bring to a definitive end the dispute existing between them regarding the legality of the assessments at issue. There is agreement between the parties that this Statement leaves open the dispute between the parties as to which steel pipes are or are not subject to the anti-dumping duty.…Having regard to the foregoing, the parties agree as follows:(1.) The … tax and liability assessment notices regarding anti-dumping duties in the amount of EUR 2304734.45 shall be settled by payment of a total of EUR 460000 by [the appellants in particular]. There is agreement between the parties that, of the sum of EUR 435125.21 thus far collected by the Duisburg Main Customs Office, only part thereof, to an amount of EUR 343644.15 shall be used to offset the payable amount of EUR 460000.…(3.) Upon the signing of this agreement, all enforcement measures against Trubowest as well as [inter alios, Mr Makarov] shall be immediately discontinued.…(5.) [The appellants] hereby waive the raising of any further claims, e.g. claims for damages, relating to the circumstances on which this Statement is based, against the Customs Authority. They also waive further legal remedies in proceedings directed against the Customs authority.The ability to assert claims of this kind against others, particularly the compensation claims referred to … against the Commission and the Council … under Article 288 [EC], shall remain unaffected hereby.”21 On 2 May 2005, the Landgericht Kleve … issued an order (Beschluss) bringing an end, in accordance with Paragraph 153a of the Strafprozessordnung-StPO (German Code of Criminal Procedure), to the criminal proceedings pending against Mr Makarov on condition of payment by him of a fine amounting to EUR 18000. The Landgericht Kleve states in that order that it took into account the fact that “[Mr Makarov] declares that his agreement [that the criminal proceedings are to be discontinued] does not imply any admission of guilt, but is given on grounds of procedural and economic interest”.’
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