The Commission for Protection of Competition instituted ex officio proceedings against company Zdravstvena ustanova Apoteka Janković to investigate a merger implemented before obtaining clearance under the Law on Protection of Competition, which, based on reasonable grounds to believe, is created by the acquisition of control on the part of Zdravstvena ustanova Apoteka Janković over pharmaceutical operations of Zdravstvena ustanova Apoteka Zrenjanin.

In the investigation procedure, the Commission will assess the criteria provided by the Law (Article 19 of the LPC) on the permissibility of mergers, and in particular, the fact that the case concerns a non-notified merger implemented without authorization and noncompliance by said undertakings with their obligations under the national merger control regime.

The Commission will establish all the relevant facts, evidence, and other elements on which to base its decision on potential actions, that is, deconcentration measures.
The Law provides 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 conclusion instituting proceedings invites all persons in possession of data, documents, or other relevant information that could contribute to the accurate fact-finding in this proceedings to forthwith present said evidence to the Commission for Protection of Competition at 25 Savska St., 4th Floor, Belgrade.

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.

Merger parties

In the case of a merger referred to in Article 17(1/1) of the Law on Protection of Competition (Official Gazette of the RS 51/09 and 95/13, hereinafter – the Law), the parties to the merger are understood to be all undertakings involved in the status change.

In the case of a merger referred to in Article 17(1/2) of the Law, the parties to the merger are understood to be the undertaking acquiring direct or indirect control (acquirer of control or notifying party pursuant to Article 63(3) of the Law) and the undertaking or a part of an undertaking over which control is acquired. Regarding the applicability of said article, i.e. determination of requirements for merger notification, the acquirer of control is the whole group of companies within which the notifying party operates and is a part thereof within the meaning of Article 5 of the Law.
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The Regulation on the application of deadlines in administrative proceedings during the state of emergency (Official Gazette of the RS 041/2020, hereinafter – the Regulation), which entered into force on March 24, 2020, provides for the treatment in respect of the application of deadlines in administrative proceedings during the state of emergency.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia enacted the Decision on the abolition of the state of emergency (Official Gazette of the RS 065/2020), which entered into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the RS, that is, on May 6, 2020.

Noting the fact that the state of emergency is lifted on May 6, 2020, the application of deadlines in administrative proceedings under the Regulation ceased to apply on the same date.

The deadlines expired during the state of emergency or deadlines expiring in the period from March 24-May 6, 2020, shall be considered expired upon the expiration of 30 days from the day of the abolition of the state of emergency (i.e. on June 5, 2020). This relates to deadlines prescribed by the Law on Protection of Competition (Official Gazette of the RS 51/09 and 95/13, hereinafter – the Law) for filing merger notifications and requests for individual exemption or deadlines for taking administrative actions, closing of administrative procedures (for example, decisions in merger cases) and deciding on the declared judicial remedies.

It follows therefrom that the parties to proceedings, pursuant to the Law, may be liable for the consequences of the improper performance and failure to act within the deadlines set in conclusions and other orders of the Commission for acting in ongoing administrative procedures, including proceedings instituted at the request of the party or ex officio. Under the Law, undertakings may be liable for the consequences of their improper performance and failure to act within the deadlines set in conclusions and other orders of the Commission in sector inquires.