36Of course, the fact that the Commission imposes a limit on the exercise of its discretion implies that it cannot, as a general rule, depart from the guidelines it has set, at the risk of being found to be in breach of general principles of law, such as equal treatment (see judgment of 29 July 2019, Bayerische Motoren Werke and Freistaat Sachsen v Commission, C‑654/17 P, EU:C:2019:634, paragraph 82 and the case-law cited). However, the adoption of such guidelines does not relieve the Commission of its obligation to examine the individual circumstances of the case, which might lead it to a decision not to apply those guidelines if the specific circumstances of the case so require (see, to that effect, judgment of 19 July 2016, Kotnik and Others, C‑526/14, EU:C:2016:570, paragraph 41). It follows that, unlike the legal acts referred to in paragraph 35 above, acts by which the Commission adopts only a rule of conduct do not in themselves produce binding legal effects.
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