31.8.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 236/11 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1289/2006 of 25 August 2006 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of certain side-by-side refrigerators originating in the Republic of Korea THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (!) (the ‘basic Regulation’) and in particular Article 9 thereof, Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES (1) On 2 June 2005, the Commission published a notice (?) initiating an anti-dumping proceeding on imports into the Community of certain side-by-side refrigerators origi- nating in the Republic of Korea. On 1 March 2006, the Commission, by Regulation (EC) No 355/2006 (}) (‘the provisional Regulation’) imposed a provisional anti- dumping duty on the same product. B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE (2)  Subsequent to the disclosure of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was decided to impose provisional anti-dumping measures, several interested parties made written submissions making their views known on the provisional findings. The parties who so requested were granted an opportunity to be heard. (3)  The Commission continued to seck and verify all infor- mation it deemed necessary for the definitive findings. @  All parties were informed of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recommend the imposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain side-by-side refrigerators origi- L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation ) No 2117/2005 (OJ L 340, 23.12.2005, p. 17). () O] C 135, 2.6.2005, p. 4. L 59, 1.3.2006, p. 12. nating in the Republic of Korea and the definitive collection of the amounts secured by way of the provi- sional duty. They were also granted a period within which to make representations subsequent to the disclosure of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which definitive measures are imposed. The oral and written comments submitted by the interested parties were considered and, where appro- priate, the findings have been modified accordingly. C. PRODUCT CONCERNED AND LIKE PRODUCT The same exporting producer as referred to under recitals 11 and 12 of the provisional Regulation reiterated and elaborated further its arguments on the issue of the product scope. In particular, this exporter claimed that the product scope should have covered all large capacity combined refrig- erator-freezers (‘CRF) with a capacity above 400 litres since a segmentation of those refrigerators would be inconsistent with the past practice of the Community institutions, would disregard evidence from other interested parties and would ignore market reality (claim (i)). This exporter further claimed that should claim (i) be rejected, any attempt to segment the CRF market should exclude three-door side-by-side models (as described in recital 12 of the provisional Regulation) from the scope of the product concerned. In essence, this exporter argued that it is not the external character- istics (notably the doors) of the models which are relevant, but the internal configuration. In particular, the exporter considered that the alignment of the fresh food and freezer compartments was the essential basic distinguishing characteristic of a side-by-side refrigerator (claim (ii)). 1. Claim (i) It is the standing practice of the Community institutions when defining the product concerned to consider primarily the basic physical and technical characteristics of the said product. Furthermore, models classified in different product segments are usually considered to form one single product unless clear dividing lines exist between the various segments.