Romania's Competition Council has carried out unannounced inspections at the headquarters of Philips Romania SRL and at the offices of 10 Philips distributors or resellers operating on the market of medical ultrasonography equipment and/or the market of medical devices for patient monitoring intended for use in hospitals and medical clinics.
According to a press release from the trade competition watchdog, the inspections were carried out as part of an investigation of a possible anti-competitive agreement and/or concerted practice of market sharing within the procedures organised by hospitals and medical clinics for the acquisition of such equipment, agerpres reports.
The distributors/resellers at which unannounced inspections were carried out are: Medical Device Store SRL, Papapostolou SRL, Dacorum Grup SRL, ABB Medtec SRL, ABB Neopuls SRL, Med Tehnica SRL, Minimed Solutions SRL, Esmed Group SRL, Pharmics SRL, Almed Investments SRL.
The investigation also concerns Philips Medical Systems Nederland BV, a company based in the Netherlands.
"The competition authority suspects that, at least starting with 2020, the investigated companies coordinate their commercial policies within the procurement procedures, manipulating the award of contracts for medical ultrasound equipment and patient monitoring devices. This conduct would have been aimed at eliminating competition between the distributors/resellers Philips Medical Systems Nederland BV/Philips Romania SRL, as well as between Philips Romania SRL and its distributors/reseller partners. That way, companies no longer compete with each other and no longer exert pressure on prices during procurement procedures, and competition is restricted," according to the council.
The unannounced inspections are authorised by the Bucharest Court of Appeal and are justified by the need to obtain all the information and documents necessary to clarify the possible anti-competitive practices analysed, and their performance does not represent a preliminary pronouncement regarding the guilt of the companies.
In the event that the Competition Council finds the violation of the competition rules, the companies involved risk fines of up to 10% of their turnover.
However, companies that cooperate with the competition authority, under a leniency programme, can win immunity from fines or substantial cuts in fines.
