Skip to main content
Aktualita

CARTELS: Unannounced inspections in the sector of information technologies

Updated on:
Content
The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, Division of Cartels confirms that it carried out the unannounced inspections in the premises of the companies acting in the area of information technologies, namely in the area of development, implementation, trade, service and consultation services which are suspected of concluding an agreement restricting competition.

The Office had justified suspicion that the investigated companies coordinated their behaviour in public procurement, which have been or will be declared in order to implement projects funded under the Operational Programme Information Society, supported by the EU Structural Funds.

Agreement between undertakings may occur in various forms, namely agreement on non-submitting the bids, agreement on contracts allocation, agreements on contracts rotation, agreements on consequent compensations through subcontracts or the undertakings might have concerted their conduct without concluding the specified agreement.

Agreement might have been concluded through the direct contacts or exchange of sensitive business information among the particular undertakings. It was necessary to carry out the inspection of the suspected undertakings since it enabled the Office to find out and verify all relevant facts and thus determine the level of participation of all affected undertakings on a possible agreement restricting competition.

The fact that the Office conducted and carried out inspections does not imply that the entities concerned have infringed the competition rules, nor does it prejudge the conclusions of the investigation. The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic does not provide further information at this stage of investigation.