Cartel in waste disposal sector fined nearly CZK 100,000,000

Office for the Protection of Competition imposed by its first-instance decision a fine amounting to CZK 96.579 million (approximately € 3,825,000) on companies A.S.A., spol. s r.o., van Gansewinkel, a.s., SITA CZ a.s. a AVE CZ odpadové hospodářství s.r.o. (hereinafter refered to as “ASA“, “AVE“, “SITA“ and “van Gansewinkel“).

These undertakings who are active in the market of waste collection and disposal and some of them also in the market of road maintenance entered into prohibited agreements on market sharing that led to the distortion of competition. The sanction and prohibition decision has already come into force.

The Office detected the cartel by its own investigation and launched administrative proceeding with companies ASA, SITA and van Gansewinkel in September 2010. In 2011, company AVE was added to the proceeding. During the course of investigation, the Office found out that between 2007 and 2011 (SITA and van Gansewinkel only between 2008 and 2010) the parties had shared their customers through mutual contacts and information sharing, particularly by coordinating their bids for public tenders for waste disposal or road maintenance.

The agreements in question were not multilateral among all participants at once, there were six bilateral agreements related to particular public tenders for waste disposal and, in case of companies ASA and AVE, also to tenders for road maintenance. During dawn raids on the premises of colluding companies, the Office gathered evidence showing that the companies had maintained business contacts that gradually turned into anticompetitive co-ordination of their actions towards customers. This manifested especially by submitting fake bids in awarding procedures to raise an impression that there was a strong competition among bidders or, on the other hand, not entering into tendering procedures and not addressing customers of other cartel members.

During the course of the proceeding, companies ASA and AVE successfully applied for type 2 Leniency. Their fines were cut by 50 pct (ASA) and 30 pct (AVE) in exchange for providing the Office with substantial information and evidence on alleged cartel activities. All parties applied for settlement as well and agreed with the legal assessment of the conduct provided by the Office. As a result, the fines were decreased by another 20 pct. Resulting fines for individual members of the cartel have been set as follows: .A.S.A., spol. s r.o. – CZK 24,289,000, van Gansewinkel, a.s. – CZK 10,870,000, SITA CZ a.s. – CZK 19,753,000, AVE CZ odpadové hospodářství s.r.o. – CZK 41,667,000.

 International and external relations
12/049/HS024 – S346/2010