In the repeated proceeding ordered by the court, the national competition authority reached the same conclusion.
Budapest, 14 October 2025 – The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has imposed a total fine of HUF 365.5 million on the Paradox security technology group and its Hungarian distributor. The national competition authority found that the companies restricted competition among sellers of security technology products in Hungary for nearly a decade. The undertakings’ conduct also affected trade between EU Member States.
In a competition supervision proceeding concluded at the end of 2019, the GVH established that Paradox Security Systems Bahamas Ltd. (Paradox Bahamas) and its Hungarian distributors, Power Biztonságtechnikai Kereskedelmi Kft. (Power) and Trióda Biztonságtechnika Zrt. (Trióda), had restricted competition among resellers of Paradox products for almost ten years.
In the original procedure, the GVH concluded that the companies had:
- prohibited the cross-border sale of Paradox products, thereby imposing a passive export restriction;
- determined a minimum installer margin, leading to indirect resale price maintenance;
- and restricted online sales by prohibiting the disclosure of end-user prices on the internet.
Trióda acknowledged the infringement during the initial proceeding, entered into a settlement with the GVH, and did not appeal. However, Paradox Bahamas and Power challenged the authority’s decision before the administrative court. The court raised concerns regarding market definition and the assessment of the impact on trade between Member States, annulled the decision, and ordered the GVH to conduct a new proceeding.
In the repeated procedure, the GVH identified the same anticompetitive practices based on the distribution agreements, the undertakings’ market conduct, and evidence collected during an on-site inspection, including emails and other documents.
These practices enabled both resellers and installers to achieve artificially higher margins on Paradox products—costs ultimately borne by consumers. The inflated margins incentivized distributors and installers to recommend Paradox products over competing brands. Given that end customers—typically without specialized knowledge—often relied on these professional recommendations, the scheme significantly restricted competition on the Hungarian market.
As a result, the GVH’s Competition Council imposed fines of HUF 268 million on Paradox Bahamas and HUF 97.5 million on Power. When determining the fine for the Hungarian company, the Competition Council took into account that Power qualifies as a small and medium-sized enterprise, cooperated during the repeated procedure, entered into a settlement, admitted the infringement, and undertook to implement a compliance programme, which the Council made mandatory. Consequently, both distributors involved in the original case have now acknowledged their participation in the infringement.
The official registration number of the case is VJ/42/2022.
GVH Press
Further information:
Bálint Horváth, Head of Communication +36 20 238 6939
Katalin Gondolovics, Spokesperson +36 30 603 1170