(Bratislava 26.8.2009) Division of Agreements Restricting Competition of the Antimonopoly Office of the SR imposed the total fine in amount of € 76 313 on the producer of electronic registration cash desks ELCOM, spol. s r.o. and its distributors GIMEX Slovakia, s.r.o., BEFFARE 777, spol. s r.o., Peter Kolesar-KOPS and COMTUPER CLUB, s.r.o. for a conclusion of agreement restricting competition during the period from November 24, 2004 to December 31, 2008.

Currently valid legal regulation in Slovakia orders natural and legal persons selling goods or providing services (e.g. shops, kiosks, market halls, restaurants etc.) to use electronic registration cash desks. Undertakings can use only the types of cash desks on which the relevant body of state test room issued a certificate. Considering the specific character of demand and supply aspect of the subjected market the existence of price competition is especially important.

 

The undertakings breached the Act on Protection of Competition by concluding Contracts on Co-operation in Sale of Electronic Registration Cash Desks (hereinafter only “Contract”) determining minimal prices of resale and setting the maximal amount of rebate which the distributor could offer to its most important dealers. Thereby the competition was restricted in the relevant market of distribution and sale of electronic registration cash desks and their supplements in Slovakia since distributors could not set a price lower than the price set by the producer ELCOM, spol. s r.o. either decide independently on their own rebates price policy. Distributors were obliged to reflect obligations arising from the Contract into their own contracts with dealers.

 

Agreements of such character prevent distributors as well as dealers from independent deciding on the amount of price for which they will resell goods what finally causes that the end consumers usually buy goods more expensively than in the functioning competition environment. Negative impact of such agreements on the competition environment is exclusion or restriction of inner branded price competition what will negatively result in the possibility to decrease prices, in increase of price transparency in the market and thereby in facilitation of collusion between rivals on individual levels of vertical as well as in lower effort to launch innovations. Finally, mentioned anticompetitive behavior negatively affects the end consumer.

 

Since the undertakings admitted that they breached the Act on Protection of Competition by their conduct and they are preparing contracts nowadays which will be in accord with the competition rules, the Office took this fact into consideration within determining the amount of fine. The prime aim of the competition protection is not punishment of undertakings, particularly in cases of less serious breaches, but the competition functioning in the market which will positively influence the consumers.

 

Based on above mentioned the Office imposed following fines: