Contents REPORT ON ACTIVITIES UOKIK 2016 Warsaw 2017 Contents Table of Contents UOKiK - key information .............................................................................................................................6 Foreword ...........................................................................................................................................................7 I. CONSUMER PROTECTION ............................................................................................................. 10 1. Practices infringing collective consumer interests and prohibited clauses in standard contracts ... 10 1.1. Practices infringing collective consumer interests ...................................................................... 10 1.2. Prohibited standard contract clauses ......................................................................................... 12 1.3. Examples of activities concerning infringements of collective consumer interests ................. 13 1.3.1. Financial market ................................................................................................................. 13 1.3.2. Telecommunications sector ............................................................................................... 16 1.3.3. Energy sector ..................................................................................................................... 19 1.3.4. E-commerce sector - Internet sales ................................................................................ 19 1.3.5. Off-premises sales............................................................................................................. 19 2. Court judgements in cases concerning the infringement of collective consumer interests ............ 19 3. Product safety and market surveillance ............................................................................................... 21 3.1. General product safety .................................................................................................................. 21 3.2. Conformity assessment system ................................................................................................... 22 3.3. Supervision of the Trade Inspection Authority ............................................................................ 24 3.4. UOKiK’s laboratories ..................................................................................................................... 25 3.5. Fuel quality control system ........................................................................................................... 25 4. Cooperation with consumer organisations ......................................................................................... 26 II. COMPETITION PROTECTION ....................................................................................................... 28 5. Competition-restricting practices ......................................................................................................... 28 5.1. Examples of activities concerning competition-restricting practices ........................................ 32 5.1.1. Illicit agreements ................................................................................................................ 32 5.1.2. Abuse of a dominant position ........................................................................................... 34 5.2. Leniency and leniency plus programme ...................................................................................... 36 5.3. Application of EU competition law ............................................................................................... 37 6. Control of concentrations ...................................................................................................................... 37 7. Court case law in competition protection cases ................................................................................ 41 8. State aid ................................................................................................................................................. 43 2 >> REPORT ON ACTIVITIES 2016 Contents III. LEGISLATIVE WORK ......................................................................................................................... 46 9. National legislation ................................................................................................................................ 46 9.1. Legislative work in UOKiK’s area of competence ...................................................................... 46 9.2. Participation in legislative work performed on the initiative of other institutions ...................... 48 10. International legislation ....................................................................................................................... 52 IV. SOCIAL surveYS AND MARKET ANALYSES ...................................................................... 55 11. Market studies and analyses ............................................................................................................. 55 12. Social surveys ..................................................................................................................................... 56 V. Information AND EDucational ACTIVITIES .......................................................................... 57 13. Promotion and education ................................................................................................................... 57 13.1. Campaigns, educational and information projects .................................................................. 57 13.2. Conferences, workshops and debates ..................................................................................... 59 13.3. Competitions ................................................................................................................................ 59 13.4. Publishing activities ..................................................................................................................... 59 13.5. Cooperation with the media ....................................................................................................... 60 VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION .............................................................................................. 61 14. Multilateral cooperation ....................................................................................................................... 61 15. Bilateral cooperation ........................................................................................................................... 66 Postscriptum ................................................................................................................................................. 66 3 >> REPORT ON ACTIVITIES 2016 Contents UOKiK in numbers Budget Number of decisions 4 UOKiK in numbers PLN M 4 Including decisions to discontinue the proceedings. 66,8Budget - PLN 66.8 M 840 Number of employees 1 - 498, including 189 lawyers, 91 economists, 37 chemists, 27 food technologists and 9 Number of employees1 biotechnologists 2 Number of decisions - 840, decisions concerning 1 As at 31.12.2016. competition-restricting practices 498 Including decisions to discontinue the proceedings. including practices)3, 196 decisions concerning concentration 27 control, decisions concerning general product safety, 138 decisions on practices decisions concerning 144 decisions concerning product conformity, 246 concentration control lawyers biotechnologists infringing collective consumer interests 196 189 and payment9 of costs of laboratory tests on fuels4 79 Fines5 imposedfood on businesses - PLN 106.8 M economists technologists decisions on issuing fines (in cases concerning practices interests - PLN 28.6 M (Orange Polska SA in Warsaw)6 91 27 decisions concerning appeals 10 infringing consumer interests and against decisions issued competition-restricting practices) 5 chemists The highest fine for competition-restricting practices - PLN by Trade Inspection Authority 5 Fines for: failure to comply or default 7 Provincial Inspectorates (WIIH) 371.6 M (SCA Hygiene Products sp. z o.o.) . in complying with a decision, failure to and payment of costs 246 provide information to the Authority, 6 of laboratory tests on fuels failure to cooperate during an inspection or search (in cases concerning practices 6 Decisions requiring businesses to pay infringing collective consumer interests costs of laboratory tests of fuel which and competition-restricting practices). Fines imposed on businesses 2 does not comply with applicable legal standards 138 decisions concerning general product safety PLN M 1 decisions concerning 144 106,8 As at 31.12.2016 2 product conformity 2 This figure Including includes decisions fines for to practices discontinue infringing the proceedings. collective consumer3 Fines interests, for: failure competition-restricting to comply or default practices, in complying with a decision, failure tofailure file notification to provide of information intent to concentrate to the Authority, or effecting failure to cooperate a concentrationduring an without inspection the Authority’sor search (inclearance, cases concerning practices failure toinfringing comply orcollective default inconsumer complying interests with a decision,and competition-restricting failure topractices). provide information to the Authority, failure4 to cooperate during an inspection or search with respect D toecisions