The Office Has Again Imposed Fines on Three Meal Voucher Issuers Totalling over CZK 279 million
The amount of fines imposed on the parties to the proceedings for the horizontal agreement remains unchanged:
- Pluxee Česká republika a.s. (former Sodexo Pass Česká republika a.s.) – CZK 132,271,000
- Edenred CZ s.r.o. – CZK 101,940,000
- Up Česká republika s.r.o. – CZK 44,941,000
The decision is not final; the parties to the proceedings may lodge an appeal against the decision to the Chairman of the Office.
In 2022 and 2023, the Office proved in its first and second-instance decisions that the undertakings in question coordinated their commercial terms with retail chains between 1 May 2004 and 25 June 2018, with regard to accepting meal vouchers for a single purchase (customers could use a maximum of five paper meal vouchers when shopping in retail chains). This conduct constituted concerted practice, by which the meal voucher issuers entered into and implemented a prohibited agreement distorting competition in the relevant market of the issuance, sale and repurchase of paper meal vouchers and related services in the Czech Republic. The conduct was also capable of affecting trade among Member States of the European Union. This constituted an infringement of both national and EU competition law. The anti-competitive conduct was declared prohibited and invalid.
Pres Unit of the Office
25/141 - S0242/2018
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