Asseco Business Solutions fixed prices for business partners reselling its company management software. A fine was imposed on the company totaling PLN 370,000 (ca. 9,250 EUR). The President of the Office also issued a decision establishing that an illegal agreement was concluded by another software manufacturer, Raks, and its three business partners

The anti-monopoly law prohibits independent entrepreneurs from jointly fixing prices of products sold by them. Vertical agreements are an illegal form of co-operation which are concluded by entrepreneurs at different levels of an economic process. The President of UOKiK issued two decisions on illegal co-operation between company management software manufacturers and their distributors.

The first decision involves Asseco Business Solutions. The company manufactures, among other things, WAPRO software. In the course of the proceedings it was found that the company imposed an obligation on its wholesale distributors to resell the products at fixed prices set in advance. The illegal practice had been applied for 11 years – from 2001 to 2012. The company reserved its possibility to check its business partners' pricing policies and decrease their discounts if they applied rates other than those that had been imposed. Mostly entrepreneurs who purchased WAPRO from the company's distributors were affected by the adverse effects of the agreement as they were unable to pay less than the fixed price.

Asseco Business Solutions was fined with a penalty totaling PLN 373,548 (ca. 93,000 EUR). The contested practice was discontinued in 2012 which served as mitigating circumstances.

Also Raks seated in Warsaw entered into an illegal agreement with its business partners: Jeeves Polska in Mińsk Mazowiecki, PPHU Intersystem in Kraków and Prestige Group seated in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The first company manufactures RAKS, company management software and the remaining companies are its distributors. Also in this case the prices were fixed at which the distributors were to sell the software to retail customers. The application of the illegal practice dates back to 2000 when an agreement had been executed by Raks and PPHU Intersystem. In 2007 the scheme was joined by Prestige Group Polska, and in 2009 by Jeeves Polska.

The President of UOKiK ordered the entrepreneurs to discontinue the unlawful practices and imposed fines totaling PLN 37,016 (ca. 9,250 EUR).*

The decisions are not final and the entrepreneurs appealed to court.

Sanctions for the participation in a competition-restricting agreement can be avoided thanks to collaboration with UOKiK under the leniency program. An entrepreneur that provides evidence of the existence of such scheme, is not its initiator and has ceased to apply illegal practices may be granted even immunity from the fine. UOKiK lawyers answer any and all questions regarding the program, including anonymous ones, at phone number: 22 55 60 555.

Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. 22 827 28 92, 55 60 314, 55 60 430
Fax 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]

*The scheme participants were fined as follows:

• RAKS - PLN 33,284 (ca. 8,250 EUR)
• Jeeves Polska – PLN 1,145 (ca. 280 EUR)
• PPHU Intersystem - PLN 1,023 (ca. 250 EUR)
• Prestige Group – PLN 1,564 (ca. 375 EUR)