Publically available rules of setting financial sanctions by the President of UOKiK for infringements of competition law are applicable as of 1 January 2009. This information is particularly important for businesses

According to the Act on competition and consumer protection, the President of UOKiK has the power to impose fines on enterprises using competition-restricting practices, including fines for the abuse of a dominant position and for concluding unlawful agreements. The Competition policy for 2008-2010 states that one of the priorities of the Office is to increase the effectiveness of its actions. In order to do so, it is essential for the antitrust authority to impose more severe fines on enterprises which infringe the rules of fair competition on the market. According to the Act, the maximum sanction cannot exceed 10% of the revenue obtained by the enterprise in the year preceding the year when the decision is issued.

Since 1 January 2009 the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has been applying Guidelines on setting fines for competition-restricting practices. The aim of the Guidelines is to increase the transparency in respect to the methodology of setting antitrust sanctions. In the opinion of the Office, the explanations will help enterprises understand the way of setting fines which they may face if they undertake unlawful activities.

The most serious infringements and at the same time ones most severely punished are horizontal competition restrictions, i.e. those that occur at the same level of goods distribution or provision of services, for example pricing agreements between producers or bid rigging between tender participants, as well as abuses of a dominant position which aim at or lead to the elimination of competition, i.e. all significant competitors. On the other hand, fines imposed by UOKiK in the case of, for example, fixing the resale price of goods or services or the abuse of a dominant position which leads to a significant restriction of competition on the market, are slightly lower. Apart from the harmfulness of the infringement, when setting the fine, the President of the Office takes into account the benefits obtained by the enterprise as a result of the infringement, or the influence which the practice has on the market. The duration of the anti-competitive behavior also has an impact on the amount of fine.

While establishing the final amount, the President of the Office may also take into consideration certain mitigating circumstances, for example the fact that the practice had been ceased by the time UOKiK’s proceedings were launched, the fact that the enterprise acted under coercion, or that it voluntarily removed the effects of the infringement, as well as circumstances that have an aggravating effect, including performing as the leader or initiator of the practice or having infringed the prohibition of competition-restricting practices before.

At the same time we would like to remind all the interested parties that the public consultation on analogous guidelines regarding setting fines for infringements of collective consumer interests will last until 15 January.

Additional information:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland
Tel. (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 430
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail: mcieloch@uokik.gov.pl