The Hungarian Competition Authority imposed fines totalling more than HUF 1.5 billion (approx. EUR 3,9 million) on six companies
Budapest, December 5, 2025 – The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has closed another major cartel case. Certain manufacturers colluded in a prohibited manner for several years in public procurement tenders for garbage trucks and sewer cleaning vehicles. The Competition Council of the GVH imposed fines totalling nearly HUF 1.3 billion (approx. EUR 3,4 million) on six of the seven companies involved in the cartel. With one exception, the companies cooperated with the GVH and admitted to the violations. The GVH also imposed a record procedural fine of HUF 270 million (approx. EUR 700 thousand) for obstructing access to data obtained during the on-site investigation.
Between 2014 and 2015, a large number of tenders were published under the Environment and Energy Operational Programme (KEOP), through which beneficiaries (local governments and water management associations) could purchase waste management, sewer cleaning and water management vehicles from state funds. For such a purchase to take place, the vehicles must be 'assembled', meaning the bidder must place the appropriate superstructure on a chassis to enter the public procurement tender. Therefore, either the chassis manufacturer or the superstructure manufacturer can be a bidder, provided they procure the appropriate components.
The GVH has observed indications of potential collusion among bidding companies in several public procurement tenders, which is a violation of the rules. Consequently, the Hungarian Competition Authority conducted unannounced on-site investigations and raids at the companies concerned, during which it obtained evidence that clearly confirmed the initial suspicion of a cartel.
It turned out that Volvo Hungária Kereskedelmi Kft., the distributor of Renault chassis, and two superstructure manufacturers, MUT Kft. and Seres Gépipari Kereskedelmi Kft., have begun preliminary discussions regarding their participation in the tenders, anticipating a large number of submissions. Their objective was to coordinate their capacities and decide in advance which company would participate in which tender. In certain instances, consensus was reached prior to the tender announcement regarding the participation of specific companies as bidders or suppliers. This approach effectively eliminated the uncertainty surrounding competition between the parties involved. Company executives convened in person on a bi-monthly basis and maintained oversight of capacity allocation through shared spreadsheets.
The illegal market sharing between the three companies affected a total of 35 public procurement tenders. During the competition supervision procedure, the GVH also identified 15 other public procurements in which, in addition to the three companies, four other companies—Interteher Kft. and He Hans Eibinger Kft., which belong to the same group of companies, as well as Eurotrade Kft. and GIF Modul Kft. – also committed infringements, typically by submitting supporting bids, thereby dividing up the market and fixing prices. The companies involved in the cartel violated not only Hungarian but also European Union law.
With the exception of GIF Modul Kft., which was involved in only one tender, all companies admitted to the infringements and most of them also submitted leniency applications to the GVH. Taking all this into account, the Competition Council of the GVH imposed a total fine of HUF 1 billion 278.4 million on six companies. The largest fine, HUF 972.9 million, was imposed on Volvo Hungária Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft., which must also pay an additional HUF 270 million – a record amount – in procedural fines for obstructing access to data obtained during the on-site investigation. Seres Kft. was fined HUF 264.6 million, GIF Modul Kft. 31 million HUF, Interteher Kft. 4.6 million HUF, Eurotrade Kft. 3.3 million HUF, and He Hans Eibinger Kft. 2.1 million HUF. The fines must be paid within 30 days.
The seventh company involved, MUT Kft., cooperated fully during the proceedings and paid a total of HUF 116 million in compensation directly to the contracters involved in the public procurement. As this amount exceeded the fine that could be imposed on the company, the Competition Council of the GVH did not impose any further fines on MUT Kft.
Restrictions on competition in connection with public procurement and similar competitive procedures are considered the most serious violations of competition law and may even result in criminal penalties. The Hungarian Competition Authority therefore gives priority to dismantling public procurement cartels and files criminal charges, for which it has no discretion under the applicable legislation. If a public procurement procedure is not decided on the basis of fair competition but on the basis of prohibited agreements between companies, this typically results in an increase in the prices offered. This causes damage to the contracting authority and the state providing the source of the procurement.
The Hungarian Competition Authority has uncovered several large cartels in recent years. Examples include the cartels between Danube shipping companies and road marking and signage companies in 2023, the cartel uncovered among road salt distributors in 2024, and the railway cartel closed in 2024, in which the Competition Council of the GVH imposed a total fine of HUF 1.2 billion. In the most recent cartel case closed in early August 2025, companies manufacturing and distributing medical devices were fined a total of HUF 1.4 billion. In addition, several similar cartel proceedings are currently pending before the GVH.
The official registration number of the case is VJ/30/2018.
GVH Press
Further information:
Bálint Horváth, Head of Communications +36 20 238 6939