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The Council of the AMO SR upheld the fine of more than EUR 10 million in the area of supplies and sale of the group of Rajo dairy products

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The Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (hereafter "the Council of the Office") upheld the first-instance decision of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, the Division of Abuse of Dominant Position and Vertical Agreements (hereafter "the Office"), No. 2016/KV/2/1/029 dated 13 June 2016, by which the Office imposed fines on the undertaking RAJO, a.s., Bratislava and its distributors, chain stores CBA Slovakia, a.s., Lučenec, COOP Jednota Slovensko, spotrebné družstvo, Bratislava, Diligentia R.C., s.r.o., Bratislava, Kaufland Slovenská republika, v.o.s., Bratislava, TERNO Group, k.s., Bratislava, BILLA, s.r.o., Bratislava, Retail Value Stores, a.s., Bratislava and TESCO STORES SR, a.s., Bratislava, as from 28 May 2009 to 28 February 2014 they committed anticompetitive conduct in the form of vertical agreements restricting competition, with the common purpose of resale price maintenance (RPM) in the area of ​​supply and sale of products of the brand Rajo in the categories of milk, butter, cream for end consumers in the territory of the Slovak Republic.
 
Such agreements are prohibited by the Article 4, Paragraph 1 in connection with the Article 4, Paragraph 3, Letter a) of the Act No. 136/2001 Coll. on Protection of Competition in the wording effective until 30 June 2014 and by the Article 101, Paragraph 1, Letter a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
 
The Council of the Office upheld the amount of fines, which the Office´s first-instance body imposed on all the participants to the proceedings. The fines were set according to the gravity of the infringement at a rate of 5 % of the relevant turnover, which was then multiplied by the number of years of infringement, that is, one year in the case of Diligentia R.C., s.r.o., and five years in the case of the other participants.
 
In the case of the company BILLA, s.r.o., Bratislava, the Office decreased the amount of fine thus set by 50 % based on its successful settlement.
 
The Office thus imposed fines in the total amount of EUR 10 266 259,83.
 
The decision of the Council of the Office came into force on 2 May 2018.
 
Against this decision, participants to the proceedings may seek a judicial review.