The Commission for Protection of Competition instituted antitrust proceedings ex officio and carried out a dawn raid at business premises of company SF1 Coffee d.o.o., a Nespresso importer and distributor, to investigate the existence of restrictive agreements referred to in Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition, which restrict competition on the retail and wholesale market for consumer electronics in the Republic of Serbia.

Based on the Eurostat data for 2019, the Commission established that the prices of consumer electronics in the Republic of Serbia are by 13 percent higher than the EU average. In light of the findings above, the Commission has analyzed the conditions of competition on the wholesale and retail market for consumer electronics in the Republic of Serbia. Accordingly, and upon consulting the public data on prices, it is established that in retail outlets, as well as in online sales of the retailer concerned, Nespresso coffee machines are sold at identical or nearly identical prices on the market of the Republic of Serbia.

The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe the existence of resale price maintenance practices carried out by company SF1 Coffee as an importer and distributor of the products concerned, which represent a form of restrictive arrangement, i.e., an act of infringement of competition referred to in Article 10 of the Law.

All persons in possession of data, documents, or other relevant information that could contribute to the accurate fact-finding in this proceedings are invited to submit said evidence to the Commission for Protection of Competition, 25 Savska St., 4th Floor, Belgrade.

The Commission for Protection of Competition instituted ex officio proceedings to investigate infringements of competition, and carried out dawn raids at business premises of companies Roaming Electronics d.o.o., Tehnomanija d.o.o., and Comtrade Distribution d.o.o., to investigate the existence of restrictive agreements referred to in Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition, which restrict competition on the retail and wholesale market for consumer electronics in the Republic of Serbia.

Based on the Eurostat data for 2019, the Commission established that the prices of consumer electronics in the Republic of Serbia were by 13 percent higher than the EU average. For example, the prices of certain product categories in the Republic of Serbia were by 33-39 percent higher than the prices in Hungary, where the current value-added tax (VAT) rate is set at 27 percent, while the VAT rate in the Republic of Serbia currently stands at 20 percent. Furthermore, the prices of consumer electronics in Hungary were below the EU average by 2.5 percent.

In light of the findings above and noting the importance of this particular market for consumers, the Commission analyzed the conditions of competition on the wholesale and retail market for consumer electronics in the Republic of Serbia. Accordingly, and upon consulting the public data on prices, it is established that in retail outlets, as well as in online sales of related retailers, consumer electronics are sold at identical or nearly identical prices.

The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe the existence of obligations (contractual) imposed by said undertakings acting in concert, establishing the prices and conditions of trade in resale, which represents a form of restrictive agreement and an infringement of competition referred to in Article 10 of the Law.
All persons in possession of data, documents or other relevant information that could contribute to the accurate fact-finding in this proceedings are invited to submit said evidence to the Commission for Protection of Competition, 25 Savska St., 4th Floor, Belgrade.