• Are Carrefour and Auchan Polska exploiting their contractual advantages vis-à-vis agri-food suppliers?
• UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny initiated two investigations into this case.
• There are reservations about some of the fees charged by the retail chains to their counterparties.

The President of UOKiK verifies services provided by retail chains to suppliers of agri-food products. They consist in the provision of various services to suppliers in connection with the sale of goods. These may include marketing and logistical issues. In return, the chain charges a variety of the so-called sales-related fees.

The practices of Carrefour and Auchan Polska raised some concerns. The companies require suppliers of agri-food products to pay for services involving the transport of products from the chains' central warehouses to their individual shops. However, the central goods distribution system is an integral part of the retail chains' business model and they should bear the costs of organising it on their own. Therefore, the charging of special logistics fees may place an unreasonable burden on counterparties. Moreover, it seems that the scope of marketing services provided by both companies to suppliers may be defined in a vague manner.

"I have initiated investigations to check carefully whether some of the charges levied on suppliers, including farmers, are not intended to unfairly pass on the operating costs of the retail chains to them. The vague definition of the services to be provided by chains may in turn result in a situation where suppliers do not know at the stage of conclusion of an agreement which specific activities should be provided by the chains to them. This is a continuation of our activities concerning the practices of retail chains in relation to fees charged to suppliers. We are also completing a market study, from which we will publish a report. We do not exclude new proceedings regarding the practices of other companies," says UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.

The investigations concern the matter itself and are not conducted against any particular entrepreneur. If such investigations show that the practices verified may constitute an unfair use of contractual advantage, the President of UOKiK may bring charges against Carrefour and Auchan Polska. In such a case, the owners of retail chains could face a penalty of up to 3% of their annual turnover. For similar practices, the President of UOKiK imposed a fine of PLN 76 million on Eurocash in November 2021.

If you are a farmer or entrepreneur operating in the agri-food industry and your large contracting partner abuses its contractual advantage by imposing unfavourable terms of cooperation, please do not hesitate to notify UOKiK. We have prepared a special form to help you report any irregularities. Click here to fill it out: https://ankieta.uokik.gov.pl/formularz-zgloszenie-przewaga/.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
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Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL