January 31 (SeeNews) - Romania's competition authority said on Thursday that it has fined retailers Auchan, Cora and Carrefour, as well as four of their suppliers, a total of 87.7 million lei ($21.08 million/ 18.8 million euro) for price fixing.
The Competition Council has found that from 2010 until 2016, the retailers and their suppliers violated both national and European regulations by fixing resale prices for promotional products, the anti-trust authority said in a press release.
The Competition Council found that in some cases, selling prices were not established according to market rules, taking into account demand and supply, but instead the suppliers and retailers set a fixed or minimum price for the resale of products to the final consumer. This led to higher prices for the final consumer, as the retailer could not reduce prices below the limit set by the supplier.
Auchan received a 36.56 million lei fine, Carrefour was fined with 26.99 million lei, while Cora will have to pay 12.4 million lei. Carrefour recognized the wrongdoing and benefited from a reduction of the fine.
The four suppliers - Quadrant-Amroq Beverages, Star Foods EM, Strauss Romania and Nelson Prod - were fined with a total 11.74 million lei.
The companies may appeal the decision of the competition authority to the Bucharest Court of Appeal, within 30 days of the publication of the decision.
(1 euro=4.7555 lei)
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