Three years ago, the Competition Authority announced that Norgesgruppen, Coop and Rema 1000 risked fees of NOK 21 billion for illegal price collusion. The claim was that the chains may have collaborated in a way that led to more expensive groceries in the store, which was flatly rejected by the chains. Competition director Tina Søreide has previously said that a decision in the case would come during the year. But now the case has been postponed, says deputy head Magnus Friis Reitan in the department that deals with the so-called bounty hunter case at the Norwegian Competition Authority. – It is a comprehensive matter. We have informed the parties that we expect that there will be a conclusion in the case during the beginning of 2024, he says. Friis Reitan states that the authority is still reviewing the parties’ responses and comments to the notice, in addition to financial and legal assessments. – Will never stay in the legal system Law professor Erling Hjelmeng at the University of Oslo is a specialist in competition law. He has no faith that the supervisory authority will end up adopting the billion fines, when the decision comes in 2024. – I can’t imagine that. I am completely convinced that such a case would never survive in the legal system, says Hjelmeng. – Characterizing the bounty hunting business as a breach of purpose cannot be anchored in legal practice or in the reality seen in the market, says law professor Erling Johan Hjelmeng at UIO. Photo: Hallvard Norum / news He clarifies that when the notice from the supervisory authority came three years ago, he made a report for Norgesgruppen, one of the grocery players covered by the billion fee. For years, Norwegian grocery chains have had so-called price hunters regularly visit their competitors’ stores – and it is this practice that the Competition Authority has responded to. For three years, the chains have fought tooth and nail to convince the supervisory authority not to adopt the billion fee. According to statistics from European competition authorities, the fee would be the second highest ever for illegal price collusion. The Competition Appeals Board overturned the decision in the bookbase case The Competition Appeals Board recently overturned the Competition Authority’s decision which fined Norwegian book publishers over half a billion kroner for illegal price collusion. The tribunal did not agree that the publishers had shared information about future prices through private channels. – All decisions from the Competition Complaints Board and other relevant practice are thoroughly looked at when we process our cases. So we read that decision thoroughly, says Magnus Friis Reitan. Hjelmeng believes that the recent decision in the book base case is very relevant to the bounty hunter case, which has now been postponed. The reason is that the tribunal is so clear that there are agreements or signals about future prices that are illegal. In the price hunter case, it is the current prices in the shops that are monitored and mapped. – As a violation of purpose, a cartel violation, with fines in the order of 21 billion, I believe this case is dead, says Hjelmeng.
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The Norwegian Competition Authority postpones decision on billion-dollar fines – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
