Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 108 U.K. Recovery of fines, other penalties or sanctions imposed by Union institutions

1. Where an action is brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union against a decision of a Union institution imposing a fine, other penalty or sanction under the TFEU or the Euratom Treaty and until such time as all legal remedies have been exhausted, the debtor shall either provisionally pay the amounts concerned on the bank account designated by the accounting officer of the Commission or lodge a financial guarantee acceptable to the accounting officer of the Commission. The guarantee shall be independent of the obligation to pay the fine, other penalty or sanction and shall be enforceable on demand. It shall cover the claim as to principal and the interest due as specified in Article 99(4).

2. The Commission shall secure the provisionally collected amounts by having them invested in financial assets, thereby ensuring the security and liquidity of the monies whilst also aiming at yielding a positive return.

3. After the exhaustion of all legal remedies and where the fine, other penalty or sanction has been confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union, or where the decision imposing such a fine, other penalty or sanction may no longer become subject to an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union, one of the following measures shall be taken:

(a) the provisionally collected amounts and the return on them shall be entered in the budget in accordance with Article 107(2);

(b) where a financial guarantee has been lodged, it shall be enforced and the corresponding amounts entered in the budget.

Where the amount of the fine, other penalty or sanction has been increased by the Court of Justice of the European Union, points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall apply up to the amounts of the original decision of the Union institution or, if applicable, to the amount laid down in a former judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the same proceedings. The accounting officer of the Commission shall collect the amount corresponding to the increase and the interest due as specified in Article 99(4), which shall be entered in the budget.

4. After all legal remedies have been exhausted and where the fine, other penalty or sanction has been cancelled or the amount has been reduced, one of the following measures shall be taken:

(a) the provisionally collected amounts or, in the event of a reduction, the relevant part thereof, including any return, shall be repaid to the third party concerned;

(b) where a financial guarantee has been lodged, it shall be released accordingly.

In the cases referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, where the overall return on the provisionally collected amount is negative, the loss incurred shall be deducted from the amount to be repaid.