On the occasion of celebrating the Competition Day, the Commission for Protection of Competition prepared a graphical presentation, of the most important work results for the last ten years (2013 – 2022) based on its Annual Reports.

Special significance has been on the results of the three-years’ work activities carried out in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, which were compared to three years preceding the pandemic, to capture its impact on the Commission’s work.

The analysis showed that the Commission (starting from 2020 as the first full year of the IV Cconvocation of the Commission Council), accomplished significant results, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, with the same number of employees, compared to three previous years, as follows:

• Positive effect on the RS budget has increased by 62%.
• Number of decisions determining competition infringements which were not annulled has increased by 100%.
• Monetary amount of imposed fines in decisions whichthat were not annulled by courts has increased by 72%.
• Efficiency of imposition of competition protection measures has increased from 19% to 69%
• Number of processed merger control cases has increased by 25%.
• Number of sector inquiries has increased by 50%.
• Number of conducted dawn-raids has grown by 36%
• Work productivity of the employed staff has grown by 30%.

This instruction shall regulate in more detail the content and method of submitting a request for determining the measure of protection of data sources and/or specific data, prescribed by the provisions of Article 45 of the Law on Protection of Competition (for the purposes of this instruction: request for data protection).

Data protection implies that the protected data will not be publicly published, that is, that they will be omitted from the decisions and acts of the Commission for the Protection of Competition that are publicly published, as well as that they cannot be viewed or copied when inspecting the case files, regardless of whether they are in printed or electronic form, in Serbian or a foreign language of the original document.

Protected data shall not have the property of information of public importance in the sense of the law regulating free access to information of public importance.

Representatives of the Commission took part in a round table organized as part of the Jean Monnet Competition Law Center of Excellence project regarding the latest developments in the field of competition law and policy in the European Union and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (” Recent developments in Competition Law and Policy in EU and CEE Countries: Open issues and Challenges“) at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

The round table presented experiences and challenges in the areas of competition protection and control of state aid in Croatia, Serbia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, with the presence of over 50 representatives of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and the academic community.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition initiated proceedings of investigating violation of competition ex officio against related companies Apcom from Hungary and Apcom Distribution from Belgrade due to reasonable doubt that stated companies set Apple product prices in resale in the Republic of Serbia and performed unannounced raids on four locations.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition analyzed competition status on the market of (1) mobile telephones and tablets, (2) smart watches, (3) accessories (headphones and wireless headphones), (4) smart TV boxes and (5) peripherals (keyboards and mouses), among others, for Apple products in the Republic of Serbia. On this occasion, through insight into publicly available data, it has been concluded that the prices of certain Apple products in the Republic of Serbia are unified with observed retailers of this brand, regardless of whether retailers have certain status of Apple authorized dealer or not, and regardless of sales channel, that is, whether it is classic sales in bricks and mortar stores or online sales.

Also, it has been detected that, in addition to being unified, the prices of Apple products on the market of the Republic of Serbia are higher compared to the prices in the neighboring countries, which is why Commission presumed existence of violation of competition in the form of setting resale prices in the sense of Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition, that is, that companies Apcom Distribution and Apcom from Hungary set the prices of Apple products in resale.

All persons having data, documents or other relevant information that can contribute to establishing the factual situation in this procedure are hereby invited to submit them at the address of the Commission for Protection of Competition, Savska 25 / IV, Belgrade.

The Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia has adopted a new Instruction for detecting bid rigging in the public procurement procedure, in the light of the new legal solutions (Law on Public Procurement, amendments to the Criminal Code) that were adopted after the 2011 Instruction.

The Commission for Protection of Competition recognized the need to emphasize and raise the level of awareness among market participants about the need and ways of business compliance with current regulations and regulations in the field of competition protection.

The aim of issuing the Instruction is to prevent and foil the implementation of “rigged or falsified offers” (bid rigging), as the most severe forms of cartels. The consequence of such agreements between competitors – bidders regarding the offered price is the elimination of competition between them, which is why the contracting authority would pay more for the subject of procurement than it would pay under the conditions of competition.

The OECD Guidelines for Combating Bi Rigging in Public Procurement and the Notice of the European Commission in accordance with the needs of cooperation between the Commission and the Public Procurement Office were used in the preparation.

Representatives of the Commission for Protection of Competition held a lecture at a webinar entitled “Concentration of market participants and effect on the process of realization of assets in bankruptcy proceedings” organized by the Bankruptcy Supervision Agency, with the support of the World Bank.

The aim of this webinar is to introduce the participants to the law on competition governing the area of concentration control, which can occur in bankruptcy proceedings.

111 bankruptcy administrators and judges of commercial courts from all over Serbia took part in the webinar.

The previous practice of the Commission for Protection of Competition confirmed that competition infringements are often a result of a lack of understanding or knowledge of undertakings. Therefore, the Commission recognized the need to increase the level of awareness of undertakings and manners in which businesses can achieve competition law compliance.

To assist undertakings in the process of adopting competition compliance programs, the Commission in these guidelines gives a brief description and clarifies individual “steps” towards adopting such programs.

The objective of these guidelines is to give orientations to undertakings, both large companies and SMEs, on drafting internal acts and rulebooks that would allow them to ensure that their businesses can achieve compliance with competition law, as well as to call attention to the need for compliance in business with this area of law across a wide range of undertakings.

At the Second Sitting of the Second Regular Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2021, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Annual Activity Report of the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) 2020.

CPC President Nebojša Perić presented to the National Assembly the results of operations in 2020, achieved during the first year of the CPC Council’s new term.

The summary of key activities of the Commission in 2020 provides an overview of antitrust investigations; exemptions of restrictive agreements from prohibition; merger control proceedings; results of sector and inquiries into competitive conditions on individual markets; issued opinions; CPC activities in the process of accession to the European Union under Chapter 8; competition advocacy activities and measures; accomplished national and international cooperation, including CPC activities to implement international projects.

During 2020, the Commission worked on 22 cases, seven of which were closed. Also, it has instituted eight new proceedings, seven of which to establish the existence of restrictive agreements and one that concerned the abuse of dominance. In five instituted proceedings, the Commission conducted 18 dawn raids in total, which is the highest number since the establishment of the Commission carried out during a reporting period. By all parameters (instituted and closed proceedings, dawn raids), the year 2020 was the most productive period for antitrust investigations.

Also, 134 merger notifications were filed in 2020, while the Commission completed four sector inquiries and launched two, which will be completed by the end of 2021.

According to the Activity Report, despite difficulties caused by the outbreak of the worldwide pandemic COVID-19, the Commission closed the year of 2020 with improved measurable operational indicators in almost all areas of protection of competition on the market of the Republic of Serbia.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has instituted antitrust proceedings ex officio against companies Atlantic Grupa – Zagreb, Atlantic Brands – Beograd, and Strauss Adriatic – Šimanovci to investigate the existence of restrictive agreements referred to in Article 10 of the Law on Protection of Competition, which restrict competition on the coffee market in the Republic of Serbia, and has conducted dawn raids.

In May and June 2021, the Commission launched an inquiry into competitive conditions in retail sale in non-specialized stores with selected food items in the Republic of Serbia. The inquiry, inter alia, covered the retail pricing trends regarding individual coffee brands and their interrelation during the observed period, 2015-2020.

The inquiry pointed out that the wholesale coffee market is a market with few undertakings, concentrated and stable, and with two large undertakings whose market share from 2013-2020 has not dropped below 80%. It is assessed that the market has a structure that is conducive to facilitating agreements between competitors.

The Commission found grounds to believe that companies Atlantic Grupa and Strauss Adriatic, as the two largest undertakings on the wholesale market for grounded coffee in the Republic of Serbia, as well as the two largest competitors, have concerted mutual business strategies on the prices of grounded coffee in the Republic of Serbia.

In this manner, the companies concerned would replace the mutual competition with cooperation, while the said behavior as its purpose or effect has a significant restriction, distortion or prevention of competition in the territory of the Republic of Serbia within the meaning of Article 10 of the Law, which stipulates that restrictive agreements may be contracts, certain contract provisions, express or tacit agreements, concerted practices, as well as decisions of associations of undertakings, which in particular, directly or indirectly, set the purchase or selling prices or other conditions of trade.

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 forthwith notify the Commission for Protection of Competition accordingly, by presenting said evidence at 25 Savska St., 4th Floor, Belgrade.

The Commission for Protection of Competition instituted proceedings ex officio against company MAT-REAL ESTATE d.o.o. to investigate a merger implemented prior to obtaining clearance under the Law on Protection of Competition, which is, based on reasonable grounds to believe, created by acquisition of control on the part of MAT-REAL ESTATE over AKCIONARSKO DRUŠTVO ZA PROIZVODNJU RADIJATORA, KOTLOVA I USLUŽNOG LIVA RADIJATOR, BEOGRAD – STARI GRAD – IN BANKRUPTCY, presently RADIJATOR DOO ZRENJANIN.

In the investigation procedure, the Commission will evaluate the criteria stipulated by the Law (Article 19 of the LPC) that govern the permissibility of concentrations and in particular, circumstances of the case pertaining to the merger implemented prior to obtaining clearance, which was an obligation of the undertaking concerned.

The Law stipulates that concentrations of undertakings are permitted, unless they significantly restrict, distort or prevent competition on the market of the Republic of Serbia or its part, and especially if that restriction, distortion or prevention is the result of creating or strengthening of a dominant position.

The Commission will also establish the essential facts, evidence and other elements on which its decision will be based, regarding potential measures for protection of competition or deconcentration measures of whatever was subject to undue concentration.

Based on the Conclusion instituting proceedings, 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 forthwith notify the Commission for Protection of Competition accordingly, by presenting said evidence at 25 Savska St., 4th Floor, Belgrade.