Aktualita
Council of AMO SR upheld the first-instance decision of AMO SR on cartel agreement related to construction works on sports playgrounds
Content
On 19 December 2019 the Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (hereafter “the Council of the Office“) confirmed the first-instance decision of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, the Division of Cartels, (hereafter “the Office“) dated 7 November 20181, by which the Office imposed fines on three undertakings in the total amount of EUR 117 690 for the conclusion of cartel agreement.
The object of the cartel agreement was to coordinate the conduct of the undertakings M.Cup, s.r.o., MPL STAVING, spol. s r.o., and RECORD TK, spol. s r.o., operating in the field of the realization of construction works on sports playgrounds and the supply of related goods and services, namely during the submission of bids in seven public procurements announced in September and October 2014.
These projects were partially financed from public funds provided by the Government Office of the Slovak Republic.
In this case it is a collusion in the process of public procurement, respectively public tender, which by its nature is ranked among the most serious infringements of competition rules.
The Council of the Office, like the Office, evaluated the conduct of the undertakings as an agreement restricting competition grounded in direct or indirect determining prices of goods, market allocation and collusive conduct in the public procurement process, which is prohibited under the Article 4 of the Act on Protection of Competition.
The Council of the Office confirmed the fine imposed by the Office and its amount as well as the imposition of the ban on participation in public procurement.
The decision of the Council of the Office came into force on 2 January 2020. The parties to the proceedings may seek judicial review of this decision.
1 The Office informed on the first-instance decision in its press release published at https://www.antimon.gov.sk/cartels-antimonopoly-office-of-the-slovak-republic-imposed-fines-for-cartel-agreement-between-undertakings-in-relation-to-the-construction-of-sports-playgrounds/
The object of the cartel agreement was to coordinate the conduct of the undertakings M.Cup, s.r.o., MPL STAVING, spol. s r.o., and RECORD TK, spol. s r.o., operating in the field of the realization of construction works on sports playgrounds and the supply of related goods and services, namely during the submission of bids in seven public procurements announced in September and October 2014.
These projects were partially financed from public funds provided by the Government Office of the Slovak Republic.
In this case it is a collusion in the process of public procurement, respectively public tender, which by its nature is ranked among the most serious infringements of competition rules.
The Council of the Office, like the Office, evaluated the conduct of the undertakings as an agreement restricting competition grounded in direct or indirect determining prices of goods, market allocation and collusive conduct in the public procurement process, which is prohibited under the Article 4 of the Act on Protection of Competition.
The Council of the Office confirmed the fine imposed by the Office and its amount as well as the imposition of the ban on participation in public procurement.
The decision of the Council of the Office came into force on 2 January 2020. The parties to the proceedings may seek judicial review of this decision.
1 The Office informed on the first-instance decision in its press release published at https://www.antimon.gov.sk/cartels-antimonopoly-office-of-the-slovak-republic-imposed-fines-for-cartel-agreement-between-undertakings-in-relation-to-the-construction-of-sports-playgrounds/