Skip to main content
Aktualita

Council of AMO SR issued a decision in the matter of a cartel in public procurement in the field of energy

Published:
Content

The decision of the Council of AMO SR is valid.

electric transmission tower
electric transmission tower

On 19 January 2023 the Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (hereafter "the Council of the Office") issued a decision of No. 2023/DOH/ZPR/R/1, by which it decided on the appeals of participants to a proceeding lodged against the first-instance decision of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, the Division of Cartels, (hereafter "the Office") of No. 2021/DOH/POK/1/77 dated 30 December 2021.

In the aforementioned first-instance decision, the Office imposed fines in the total amount of EUR 8 635 625 on three undertakings, participants to a public procurement, for concluding a cartel agreement, which constitutes the violation of provision of Article 4 Paragraph 1 in connection with the provision of Article 4 Paragraph 4 Letters a), c) and f) of the Act on Protection of Competition and the Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and stopped the administrative proceeding against three undertakings, other participants to the public procurement, as it had not proven in the proceeding that they had violated the provisions of the Act on Protection of Competition and the Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In connection with the first-instance decision, the Council of the Office identified an incompleteness in the evaluation of selected evidence, which had affected the evaluation of request for leniency, as well as the factual conclusions of the Office in relation to individual participants to the proceeding. According to the Council of the Office, these facts result in the unreviewability of the first-instance decision. For the purpose of correct finding and assessment of factual state, the Council of the Office annulled the first-instance decision and returned the matter to the first-instance body for a new proceeding and decision.

The Office informed about the issuance of the first-instance decision in a press release available on CARTELS: AMO SR imposed fines of almost EUR 9 million for a cartel in public procurement in energy sector.

The decision of the Council of the Office entered into force on 28 January 2023.