Administrative Court upholds €20,000 fine for Ramstore Macedonia
Administrative Court rejects the company’s lawsuit and confirms that side agreements with suppliers contained undisclosed fees that breached the law.
The Administrative Court has upheld the Commission for Protection of Competition's sanction against Ramstore Macedonia DOO Skopje, confirming a fine of 20,000 euros for violating the Law on the Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices in the Supply Chain of Agricultural and Food Products.
The court dismissed as unfounded the lawsuit filed by the company and the responsible person, thereby leaving the Commission's earlier decision in force.
Court's findings on data-exchange agreements
According to the decision, Ramstore concluded separate agreements for the exchange and sale of data with suppliers Pivara AD Skopje and VV Tikvesh AD Kavadarci. Those side agreements provided for additional payments that were not included in the main supply contracts, which the court found to constitute an unfair trading practice.
In its ruling the court also confirmed the correct application of legal provisions that prohibit unrelated payments and fees for market research when such charges are not clearly specified in supply contracts.
As a result, the company was fined 20,000 euros, while the responsible person received a penalty of 350 euros, to be paid in the denar equivalent.
Photo: press material from the event
