I. The provision of Article 113(2) EPC, that the European Patent Office shall consider and decide upon the European patent application or the European patent only in the text submitted to it, or agreed, by the applicant for or proprietor of the patent, is a fundamental procedural principle, being part of the right to be heard, and is of such prime importance that any infringement of it, even as the result of a mistaken interpretation of a request, must, in principle, be considered to be a substantial procedural violation. In any case, such violation occurs when, as in the present case, the Examining Division does not make use of the possibility of granting interlocutory revision under Article 109 EPC, after the mistake has been pointed out in the grounds of appeal.

Decision of first instance not taken on text submitted by applicant - substantial procedural violation
Failure to follow procedure set out in Guidelines - not a substantial procedural violation
Decision of first instance not well reasoned - not a substantial procedural violation
Remittal to first instance for further prosecution
Reimbursement of appeal fee

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