On 26^th and 27^th June, courts issued rulings concerning two decisions by the President of UOKiK. The Court of Competition and Consumer Protection confirmed the fact that Polifarb Cieszyn-Wrocław and the owners of seven hypermarkets had concluded a prohibited agreement. Moreover, the Court of Appeal adjudicated in the case of Castorama and ICI that the said companies had been jointly fixing for a few years the selling prices for paints and varnishes

The first court judgement concerns the decision issued in 2006, when the Office stated that paint manufacturers (Cieszyn-Wrocław and the owners of seven hypermarkets offering construction products, as follows: Bricomarche, Castorama, Leroy Merlin, Nomi, Obi, Platforma and Praktiker) had entered into anticompetitive agreement. The shops could enjoy in turn a special discount granted by manufacturer for keeping prices of paints and varnishes at the level previously fixed by the supplier. Terminating the contract entailed a discount loss and frequently the suspension of products delivery by Polifarb. The President of UOKiK imposed a fine on the participants to the agreement in total amount of nearly PLN 110 mln, however, the undertakings lodged an appeal against the decision.

Yesterday the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection confirmed the decision of the President of UOKiK and dismissed appeals lodged by the punished undertakings. The court, however, decided to reduce the fines imposed, in total exceeding PLN 29 mln. The pronounced court judgement clearly indicated the practice applied by the companies as competition-restricting. As far as fines are concerned, they were reduced in line with the parties’ involvement in the prohibited practice.

Today’s judgement of the Court of Appeal regards the decision issued in 2008, when the President of UOKiK stated Castorama and ICI had concluded a competition-restricting agreement by fixing selling prices of paints and varnishes. The court ordered to discontinue the said practice. All participants to the agreement were imposed a fine exceeding PLN 45 mln.

Undertakings appealed to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection (CCCP; pl. SOKiK) against the decision and on 27^th April 2011, SOKIK confirmed that the prohibited agreement had been applied. However, it decided to reduce the fine imposed on Castorama from PLN 36 685 720 to 12 228 573.

Today the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling by the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection issued in 2011 - it confirmed the conclusion of a prohibited agreement, and sustained fine reduction to Castorama.

As regards the first case, the court decision is not final. It can be appealed against to the Court of Appeal. As far as the judgement of the Court of Appeal is concerned, parties may file a cassation appeal.

Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Phone: +48 22 55 60 106
Fax: +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]