The infringement occurred from November 2017 until December 2018 in the form of illegal customer sharing and exchange of information about price behaviour with a competitor (Maurer SE and Maurer Söhne Ges.mbH; referred to jointly as “Maurer”).
The companies operate in the market for expansion joints and structural bearings.
The decision is final.
Leniency status
Leniency recipient Maurer cooperated with the AFCA. Accordingly, the Cartel Court only found an infringement of the ban on cartels in the form of illegal customer sharing and exchange of information about price behaviour with a competitor in the area of expansion joints and structural bearings in Austria; the infringement lasted from November 2017 until December 2018.
The AFCA may refrain from applying for the imposition of a fine on a company if that company is the first competitor involved in a cartel to approach the Authority and if it fulfils all the other criteria for the leniency programme.
Assessment of fines
The AFCA applied for an appropriate fine; it is at the Cartel Court’s discretion to set the actual amount. To allow the Court to decide freely on the basis of all relevant circumstances, the AFCA applied for the imposition of an appropriate fine. The Cartel Court may impose fines of up to 10% of an entity’s total turnover generated in the preceding business year if that entity is found to have breached cartel law.