Twenty-five of the sanctioned companies are or have been members of the authorized service network of Auto Italia Impex SRL in Romania and provide, among others, vehicle maintenance and repair services.
Following an investigation, the competition authority found that these companies coordinated their commercial behavior to fix and/or standardize labor rates, spare part prices, and other commercial conditions in dealings with certain insurance companies. In doing so, they eliminated competition among themselves.
This agreement was reinforced by the involvement of insurance companies Gothaer Asigurari-Reasigurari SA (currently Allianz-Tiriac Unit Asigurari SA) and Uniqa Asigurari SA, which, through their actions, supported the coordination of the repairers’ behavior. As a result, the two insurance companies were fined RON6.7 million, with the remaining amount representing fines applied to the auto repairers involved in the agreement.
The investigation was initiated following a leniency request submitted by one of the companies, which received immunity from antitrust fines for cooperating with the competition watchdog under the leniency program. The leniency policy is a tool through which the Competition Council can offer favorable treatment to companies involved in a cartel-type agreement that cooperate with the authority to uncover and punish anti-competitive practices.
All 27 sanctioned companies admitted their wrongdoing and therefore benefited from fine reduction.
The decisions of the Competition Council are enforceable and the fines collected represent revenues to the state budget. Romania’s tax administration ANAF implements the Council’s sanctioning decisions and collects the fines.
The decision of the Competition Authority will be published on the institution’s website after the removal of confidential information.