On 21 April 2015 the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) initiated proceedings against SCA HYGIENE PRODUCTS Kereskedelmi Kft., VAJDA-PAPÍR Gyártó, Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft., TESCO-GLOBAL Áruházak Zrt., AUCHAN MAGYARORSZÁG Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft., SPAR Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft., METRO Kereskedelmi Kft. and DM-Drogerie Markt Kft. At the same time the GVH held unannounced inspections at the premises of the undertakings.

The GVH believes that the undertakings under investigation are directly or indirectly conducting negotiations on the price increases of certain household paper products in order to concert the pricing of these products and that they are also sharing other related sensitive business information with each other to conduct negotiations on price increases of certain household paper products in order to concert the pricing of the products in question and they share other related sensitive business information with each other. The undertakings under investigation have presumably violated the provisions of the Hungarian Competition Act and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to the prohibition of restrictive agreements.

According to the Hungarian Competition Act, the GVH may hold unannounced inspections. The provisions of the Act require the GVH to obtain prior judicial consent before holding such inspections.

The initiation of the competition supervision proceeding does not mean that the undertakings in question have actually committed the infringement. The proceeding seeks to clarify the facts and to prove that the presumed infringement has been committed. According to the Act these proceedings must be closed within 6 months, however, this time limit can be extended two times by a further 6 months, depending on the complexity of the case.

Case number: Vj/22/2015

Budapest, 21 April 2015

Hungarian Competition Authority

 Further information:
Andrea BASA
Spokesperson
Mail: 1054 Budapest, V. ker. Alkotmány u. 5.
Postal address: 1391 Budapest, 62. POB 211
Tel: (+36-1) 472-8902
Email: basa.andrea@gvh.hu , press@gvh.hu
http://www.gvh.hu

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