L 102/14 Official Journal of the European Union 19.4.2007 (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory) DECISIONS COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 20 October 2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 81(1) of the EC Treaty (Case COMP/C.38.238/B.2) — Raw tobacco — Spain (notified under document number C(2004) 4030) (Only the Spanish, English and Italian texts are authentic) (2007/236/EC) On 20 October 2004, the Commission adopted a Decision relating to a proceeding under Article 81 of the EC Treaty. In accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 ('), the Commission herewith publishes the names of the parties and the main content of the Decision, including any penalties imposed, having regard to the legitimate interest of undertakings in the protection of their business secrets. A non-confidential version of the full text of the decision can be found in the authentic languages of the case and in the Commission’s working languages at DG COMP website at http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/index_en.html SUMMARY OF THE DECISION 1. INTRODUCTION The decision deals with two horizontal infringements, one by processors and the other by representatives of producers of raw tobacco in Spain. The processors’ infringement concerns agreements and/or concerted practices between the four undertakings engaged in the first processing of raw tobacco in Spain, namely Compafifa espafiola de tabaco en rama, SA (Cetarsa), Agroexpansién SA (Agroexpansion), World Wide Tobacco Espafia (WWTE) and Tabacos esparioles SL (Taes) (hereinafter referred to collectively as the processors) and Deltafina SpA (Deltafina, an Italian processor), either directly or, from 1999 onwards, through the association ANETAB. The object of this secret cartel was to fix each year, between 1996 and 2001, the (maximum) average delivery price for each variety of raw tobacco and to share out the quantities of each variety of raw tobacco that were to be bought. During the last three years, the processors also agreed among themselves the price brackets per quality grade of each raw tobacco variety that are given in the schedules annexed to the ‘cultivation contracts’ and the additional conditions applicable (ie. the average minimum price per producer and per producer group). () OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 1. The producers’ infringement concerns agreements and/or concerted practices between the three agricultural unions in Spain (?): ASAJA, UPA and COAG and the Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives CCAE (%) (hereinafter referred to collectively as the producer representatives). The object of this cartel was to fix each year, between at least 1996 and 2001, the price brackets per quality grade of each raw tobacco variety that are given in the schedules annexed to the ‘cultivation contracts’ and the additional conditions applicable. 2. ORIGIN OF THE CASE AND PROCEDURE The Commission started this ex officio procedure with inspections at the premises of several Spanish processors and other market participants between 3 and 5 October 2001. By letter of 16 January 2002, the four Spanish processors and their association ANETAB announced that they were committed to cooperating with the Commission in the proceedings under the terms of the 1996 leniency notice and supplied various memoranda giving evidence on the facts at issue. They also informed the Commission that, as of 3 October 2001, they had put an end to their practices. (3) Asociacién agraria de jovenes agricultores (ASAJA), Unién de pequerios agricultores (UPA) and Coordinadora de organizaciones de agricultores y ganaderos (COAG). (}) Confederacién de cooperativas agrarias de Espafia (CCAE).