• The Trade Inspection Authority, at the request of the President of UOKiK, steps up inspections of coal retailers across Poland.
• Several thousand coal depots are to be inspected.
• The goal is, inter alia, to reinforce price monitoring for collusive behaviour by entrepreneurs and inspection of the legality of their actions.

The coal market has been under close scrutiny of the President of UOKiK. So far, as part of the ongoing market investigation, 201 operators running a total of 255 coal deposits have been inspected. Meanwhile, full market investigation and inspections across the country began today.

- The situation on the coal market raises doubts about the autonomy of price-setting by individual entrepreneurs, which is why I have commissioned the Trade Inspection Authority to inspect coal depots across Poland, a total of several thousand points of sale. Inspectors are to visit every coal depot in our country and source product prices from every day until at least the end of the year. Based on this data, as well as information on the structure of the market, we will take further decisions, including possible inspections or searches at the premises of those entrepreneurs who would attempt to fix collusive coal prices jointly with other market players. The inspection will also verify the compliance of product price labelling, the legality of the entrepreneur's business activities or the country of origin of coal – President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny, stresses. 

As part of the inspections carried out, the legality of the retailers’ business will be examined, including inter alia their compliance with the requirement to be registered on the portal https://cieplo.gov.pl/ and keep their coal sale prices updated. Based on the information available on this website, the consumer can check where they can buy coal, at what price, and thus make the best purchasing decision for themselves. Non-compliance with the requirements will result in a notice to the National Revenue Administration, which can impose a fine of PLN 1,500 on the operator of the coal depot. What is more, the NRA may impose a fine of up to PLN 15,000 in the event of repeated non-compliance.

The TIA inspectors will also verify the correctness of the display of prices by retailers and the country of origin certificate. This is to eliminate irregularities at the stage of purchase of coal by consumers. Furthermore, the inspection will involve collecting information on the market structure, such as the size of coal retailers, staffing, the number of depots they own, and price levels. The data collected as part of the inspection will be used, inter alia, to monitor whether price collusion is taking place among retailers.

- We will react firmly to any instance of collusive pricing resulting in an increase in the price of coal and therefore the cost of heating homes for consumers. The size of the colluding entities or their ownership structure is not of concern to us. Any entrepreneur breaching the law will be treated equally severely in order to foster fair competition in the market and protect consumers - President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny, says.

At the same time, we would like to remind you that the President of UOKiK steps in in cases strictly defined by law, including an unlawful agreement between entrepreneurs.  Still, the President of UOKiK does not have the power to impose price levels on the products offered by entrepreneurs, and can have an indirect impact on them, i.e. by eliminating illegal practices and increasing competitive intensity on the relevant market.

In a free market economy, entrepreneurs are free to set prices.   However, this must be their own business decision; they cannot do it in consultation with other entities, such as their competitors. Price collusion or market sharing is subject to a penalty of up to 10 per cent of the entrepreneur's turnover for each practice and up to PLN 2 million for individuals managing the company who are directly responsible for the prohibited arrangements.

Individuals who have first-hand knowledge of collusive pricing in coal sales can report this to UOKiK. We run a programme to acquire information from anonymous whistleblowers, with full data protection guaranteed. We value in particular information from employees of companies involved in prohibited arrangements.  Visit https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form to inform us of unlawful collusion or abuse of a dominant position by an entrepreneur.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
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Phone: 22 55 60 246
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