On 10 March 2015 the Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal – GVH) initiated a competition supervision proceeding, against seven undertakings (ALCUFER Ipari Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft., FE-GROUP INVEST Vagyonkezelő, Tanácsadó és Nagykereskedelmi Zrt., JÁSZ-PLASZTIK Kft., Észak-dunántúli MÉH Nyersanyag-hasznosító Zrt., Észak-magyarországi MÉH Nyersanyaghasznosító Zrt., AKKUCITY Akkumulátor és Akkumulátorhulladék Kereskedelmi Kft. and VENTUM Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft.). At the same time the GVH held unannounced raids at the premises of the undertakings.

GVH noticed that since 2013, the above-mentioned undertakings have been negotiating a market sharing agreement on the lead-acid battery recycling market. The undertakings under investigations have presumably violated the provisions of the Hungarian Competition Act and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to the prohibition of restrictive agreements.

According to the Hungarian Competition Act, the GVH may hold unannounced inspections. The provisions of the Act require the GVH to obtain prior judicial consent before holding the inspections.

The initiation of the competition supervision proceeding does not mean that the undertakings in question have actually committed the infringement. The proceeding seeks to clarify the facts and to prove that the presumed infringement has been committed. According to the Act these proceedings must be closed within 6 months, however, this time limit can be extended two times by a further 6 months, depending on the complexity of the case.

Case number: Vj/2/2015.

Budapest, 11 March 2015.

Hungarian Competition Authority

 Further information:
Andrea BASA
Spokesperson
Mail: 1054 Budapest, V. ker. Alkotmány u. 5.
Postaddress: 1391 Budapest, 62. POB 211
Tel: (+36-1) 472-8902
Email: basa.andrea@gvh.hu , press@gvh.hu
http://www.gvh.hu

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