The Commission for Protection of Competition has instituted an ex officio proceedings for the investigation of infringement of competition on the payment cards market against the MasterCard payment card organization’s respective market competitor as well, that is, against the following three companies: VISA Incorporated and VISA International Service Association, with registered seat in Foster City, California, and VISA CEMEA Holdings Limited, with registered seat in London (hereinafter, VISA payment card organization).

The analysis of competitive conditions pertaining to the payment cards market in the Republic of Serbia has demonstrated the necessity to also institute a proceedings against VISA payment card organization based on the same facts and legal basis. Namely, the Commission has reasonably assumed that VISA payment card organization, as a form of association of undertakings in the market of the Republic of Serbia, within the meaning of Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition, also sets the fallback interchange fees in an unfair amount, implemented by banks in the territory of the Republic of Serbia within the VISA payment card system. In such manner, VISA payment card organization has exercised an influence on the merchant service charge increase – a merchant bank fee paid for each payment card transaction, charged by banks to merchants for accepting a card for payment (hereinafter, merchant fee). The largest portion of merchant fees (approx. 60-70%) account for the interchange fees. The interchange fees in the Republic of Serbia are currently several times higher than in the EU markets. This further indicates that merchants accepting a card for payment pass on a part of the costs of merchant fee to consumers through higher retail prices, regardless of whether the payment is made by payment cards or in cash. Consequently, the competition on the card acquiring market in regard to merchant fees offered to merchants for the card acquiring service is restricted, with potential adverse influence on the state of competition on the card issuing market in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, given the incentive of banks to offer payment cards yielding the highest interchange proceeds for services provided in relation to POS (point of sale) transactions.

All persons in possession of data, documents or other relevant information which could contribute to the accurate fact-finding in this proceedings are called upon to submit said evidence to the Commission for Protection of Competition to the address 25/IV Savska St., Belgrade.

The implementation of a new STATA econometric software package procured by the Commission for Protection of Competition, along with an E-Views software license upgrade, utilizing funds provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will ensure more efficient use of econometric analyses in cases pending before the Commission.

Economists employed by the Commission for Protection of Competition have initiated the software training courses. The training sessions are organized in series, one dedicated to the STATA general theoretical training and the other to empirical research based on the CPC data collected in a currently ongoing sector inquiry into the food products retail market.

As a result of the two-year project “Capacity Building for the Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition” approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in addition to the software concerned, the Commission has also procured necessary hardware equipment which will be utilized in related econometric analyses.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has instituted ex officio proceedings against company Konica Minolta Poslovna Rešenja SE d.o.o. Beograd, 11a Milutina Milankovića Blvd., Belgrade. The proceedings is instituted in order to investigate the infringement of competition from Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition.

During the course of investigation proceedings instituted on May 28, 2018 against companies Original doo Beograd, Mikops doo Niš, Birolinija doo Beograd, Biro print sistemi doo Beograd, Dikti Line doo, Birodeveloping doo Niš, and Birotehnika doo Jagodina, the Commission has gained knowledge indicating that company Konica Minolta Poslovna rešenja SE has also participated in the infringement of competition stipulated in Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition. As an importer and distributor of equipment manufactured by Konica Minolta, company Konica Minolta manages the sale of equipment via company Original doo Beograd, from which all other partners are procuring the related equipment, such as Birotehnika, Mikops and Birolinija, not excluding the independent sales. The sales and aftermarket services of equipment manufactured by Develep, owned by company Konica Minolta, are managed via partners Birodeveloping and Dikti Line.

For reasons of procedural economy, given that legal requirements on the consolidation of two proceedings are met, the Commission has enacted a conclusion on conducting single proceedings in this case.

Employees of the Commission for Protection of Competition have attended a two-day training course on lobbying and successful public debating. The course was implemented with a high degree of interaction, covering topics such as – the role of public debate in creating public policies, elements of the organization of public debates, as well as how to conduct a debate.

Attendees of this course, organized through project funding provided by the Kingdom of Norway and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade, were provided with an opportunity to learn more about the characteristics of a successful lobbyist, in addition to various tactics and techniques utilized, including practical cases derived from the EU experiences showcasing the implementation of this skill. In such manner, the Commission representatives were presented with an opportunity to advance their advocacy skills, as well as to improve their expertise in disseminating their own knowledge-based capital and practical lessons learned from the competition policy field.

Photo: Fonet – Zoran Mrđa

The Commission for Protection of Competition has approved a concentration of undertakings created by the acquisition of control over Mining and Smelting Combine RTB Bor d.o.o. Bor, executed on the part of company Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., PR China.

Zijin Mining Group as a China-based company is engaged in the exploration and mining of gold, copper, zinc and other mineral resources, with no previous market presence in Serbia.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has instituted ex officio proceedings for investigation of infringement of competition against four pharmaceutical companies, namely Farmix d.o.o., Beohem-3 d.o.o., Makler d.o.o. and Pharmaswiss d.o.o., all from Belgrade. It is reasonably assumed that said undertakings have been involved in collusive bidding in public procurements of medications used for Hemophilia, i.e. have shared the Hemophilia public supply market in the period from 2014 to 2017. The market sharing practices between competitors are considered to be a form of very serious infringement of competition.

Based on the Commission for Protection of Competition’s reasonable assumption of the existence of objective risks of removal or alteration of evidence in the possession of the parties, the authorized officials of the Commission have conducted dawn raids on the business premises of companies subject to the proceedings concerned immediately following the opening of investigations. On the occasion, they have inspected and checked business premises and belongings of the parties, including computers and other e-data storage media. Also, the Commission has examined contracts, financial and other business documentation, as well as business correspondence, all related to the investigation into the existence of competition infringement.

All persons in possession of data, documents or other relevant information which could contribute to the accurate fact-finding in the proceedings concerned are called upon to submit said to the Commission for Protection of Competition, 25/IV Savska St., Belgrade.

The experts from the French Competition Authority, Autorité de la concurrence, have held a two-day seminar designed to advance the efficiency of competition policy enforcement in Serbia via the exchange of experiences with peers from the Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia and representatives of other institutions interested in the area of competition law and policy.This seminar was organized by the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia and the Embassy of the Republic of France in Belgrade, in line with the needs of the Commission.

In opening the event, Dr. Veljko Milutinović, member of the Council of the Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia, has welcomed the seminar participants.
In its address, Dr. Milutinović has underlined that “the Commission, after twelve years of operations, has gained a significant experience and its staff members have already accumulated a great body of knowledge, thus making it increasingly less needed to be educated and progressively more important to provide guidance to others. This, nevertheless, does not reduce the importance of such seminars. On the contrary, the transition to an interactive phase, which is a phase of an active exchange of knowledge and experiences, marks an important milestone for the Commission. In that respect, meetings of this kind are of vital importance.”

The lecturers from the French Competition Authority, An Krencer, Eliezer Garcia-Rosado and Marianne Kombalduire, have presented the new practical experiences of the France’s national competition regulator to the representatives of the Commission for Protection of Competition and the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications. This year’s topics related to the practical aspects of the relief or reduction from the commitment payment from measures for protection of competition, leniency program, collusive bidding in public procurements and dawn raids.
The cooperation between France and Serbia in the competition policy domain is implemented as part of the Serbia’s converging efforts in relation to the European practices and legislation implemented in the area relevant to the EU accession criteria, defined as: “sustainable market economy and capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.”
This seminar is the continuation of cooperation between the two institutions, commenced with the first French-Serbian competition policy seminar held in October 2017.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has imposed a procedural penalty measure in the amount of 8,500 euro against undertaking „MIMO” d.o.o. Beograd, due to its failure to act on the Commission’s Request for the provision of information.

In the aforementioned request ordering the submission of data for the purpose of a proceedings for investigation of competition infringement instituted ex officio by the Commission against company Industrija smrznute hrane „Frikom” d.o.o., company „Mimo” was on two occasions warned of the consequences of omission in respect of the Commission’s order.
Taking into account that extended deadline for the submission of requested data has also been reached on August 25, 2018 and that said company failed to address the Commission with a request for the deadline extension or otherwise informed the Commission of the reasons not to act on the Commission’s Request for the provision of information, the Commission Council has enacted a decision on the procedural penalty measure.

Company „MIMO” d.o.o. Beograd is obligated to execute the penalty payment in the aforesaid amount within two months of receipt of the decision concerned, under the threat of enforcement measure. The amount set as a procedural penalty measure is paid into the Budget account of the Republic of Serbia.
Conducts contrary to the Commission’s orders, that is failures to act on its orders, are subject to the procedural penalty measures in the amount of 500-5,000 euro for each day of such conduct or omission, which is regulated by the provisions of Article 70 of the Law on Protection of Competition
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When setting the amount of penalty payments, the Commission implements the criteria stipulated in the Law on Protection of Competition and the Regulation on criteria for setting the amount payable on the basis of measure for protection of competition and sanctions for procedural breaches, manner and terms for payment thereof and conditions for determination of respective measures, as well as in the Guidelines for implementation of the Regulation on criteria for setting the amount payable (…), enacted by the Commission Council on May 19, 2011.

The Law on Protection of Competition specifies that procedural penalty may not exceed 10% of the total annual revenue calculated in a manner stipulated by the Law. Also, procedural penalty measure does not release a party for the obligation to submit requested data, i.e. to act on the Commission’s requests.

Serbia has taken all necessary steps towards the full implementation of the Law on Protection of Competition. In order to further improve the efficiency of competition policy enforcement in Serbia, it is necessary to secure the expansion of capacities of the Commission for Protection of Competition – states one of the commentaries provided by experts of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its regular report on competitiveness in South East Europe.

This publication provides a comprehensive assessment of economic performances and regional competitiveness in 17 fields, aimed to assist the Western Balkans countries in creating improved development policies. In the course of drafting this assessment, from early 2016 to the beginning of 2018, the OECD has cooperated with SEE countries, specifically with Serbia, Albania, BiH, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, in order to secure a facts-based analysis, which is a prerequisite for delivering support in the structural reform process.

The Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia took an active role in drafting this document.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has instituted ex officio proceedings for investigation of infringement of competition against 172 undertakings operating on the baby care products market. This is the seventh such proceedings opened this year against undertakings operating on the baby care products market.

As in the case of previous six proceedings instituted against undertakings operating on the baby care products market, the Commission has reasonably assumed that the seller and buyers of baby care products have set selling prices and other conditions of trade when arranging the cooperation. The reasonable assumption in this proceedings is based on the fact that the agreements concerned contain the provisions that fix resale prices. The provisions mentioned restrict buyers to independently and autonomously make business decisions relating to the respective pricing policies.

The Law on Protection of Competition defines restrictive agreements as agreements between undertakings which as their purpose or effect have a significant restriction, distortion or prevention of competition in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. They may have a form of contracts, certain contract provisions, express or tacit agreements, concerted practices, as well as decisions made by associations of undertakings, which directly or indirectly set the purchase or selling prices or other conditions of trade.
The Commission believes that the baby care products market is of utmost importance for consumers, as well as for the society as a whole and, for that purpose, all instituted proceedings relating to this market are considered to be of primary importance for the Commission which works intensively on a sector inquiry into the overall baby equipment market, the results of which will be presented to the general public.

All persons in possession of data, documents or other relevant information which could contribute to the accurate fact-finding in the proceedings concerned are called upon to submit said to the Commission for Protection of Competition, 25/IV Savska St., Belgrade.