ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION: AMO SR initiated an administrative proceeding in connection with providing online intermediary services on discount portals in Slovakia
The administrative proceeding concerns the possible abuse of dominant position.
On 8 March 2023 the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, the Division of Abuse of Dominant Position and Vertical Agreements, (hereafter "the Office") initiated an administrative proceeding on its own initiative in the matter of possible abuse of dominant position pursuant to the Article 5 Paragraph 3 of the Act on Protection of Competition (the Act No. 187/2021 Coll., hereafter "the Act") against an undertaking operating in the field of providing online intermediary services on discount portals in the territory of the Slovak Republic.
The Office initiated the administrative proceeding following an investigation, during which the Office had obtained information and documentation giving rise to the suspicion that the undertaking operating in the field of providing online intermediary services on discount portals in the territory of the SR at least since 2018 to the present could
- limit the possibilities of business entities to promote and sell their products and services on a discount portal operated by him and simultaneously on competing online portals and
- limit the promotion and sale of products and services of business entities on other online portals at the same or lower price than the product or service promoted and sold on the discount portal operated by him.
According to the Article 42 Paragraph 1 of the Act, the Office shall impose a fine of up to 10 % of the worldwide turnover on the undertaking for the infringement of prohibition of abuse of dominant position according to the Article 3 Paragraph 10 of the Act for the previous accounting period.
The initiation of administrative proceeding does not mean that the party to the proceeding has infringed competition rules, nor does it prejudge conclusions, which the Office may reach in a decision in the matter itself.