Analysing the quality control procedures used by the Polish Polystyrene Manufacturers Association, UOKiK completes preliminary proceedings and concludes the Association did not violate competition law.

Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) began preliminary proceedings into the Polish Polystyrene Manufacturers’ Association (PSPS) quality control practices in December 2014. The Authority sought to determine if two PSPS programmes might infringe competition law. One issue it looked at was whether by introducing quality control standards PSPS set itself, the Association wasn’t pressuring producers to introduce products that did not meet those standards, though they did in fact meet requirements set out by law.

The proceeding showed that the programmes had not hindered competition and for that reason there was no basis for UOKiK to investigate the matter further. The first programme, used to determine whether product labelling corresponded to its actual parameters, not only did not discriminate against a single producer, but in fact proved a boon to those who purchased polystyrene, including consumers, as it led to the elimination from the market of mislabelled product. The second programme was never actually implemented, so the Authority’s analysis in that respect was of no avail. UOKiK finished its proceeding on May 4.

UOKiK initiates preliminary proceedings to research market phenomena that could, but do not necessarily have to, lead to infringement of law. Proceedings are conducted into ‘issues’, not ‘against’ particular enterprises, and are meant only to look at the mechanisms at work on a particular market.

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