Moutai Wuliangye was fined"Vertical price monopoly agreement"Clear judgment rules
China News Service Beijing2month22日电 (Reporter Zhou Rui) With great attention from all parties, Chinese officials228236_82902.02100 million yuan(RMB, the same below); Kweichow Moutai Sales Co., Ltd. also received the certificate issued by Guizhou Price Bureau2.47100 million fines.
Deputy Leader of the Expert Advisory Group of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council,w88 casinoDirector of Competition Law Research Centerw88 login22In an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Service, he pointed out that the official investigation of Moutai and Wuliangye clarified China's judgment rules for vertical monopoly. Leading companies in other industries in China should also review their existing distribution models and conduct antitrust compliance in a timely manner. In particular, the fixation of resale prices and the limitation of minimum resale prices require caution.
2012At the end of the year, in order to prevent dealers from competing for low-price shipments in the cold sales winter, Moutai announced12Provincial, district and city18dealers were punished; Wuliangye also punished11provincial and municipal14Home“Low price, cross-region, cross-channel illegal sales”9617_9628
Since Article 14 of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law clearly prohibits operators and transaction counterparts“Achieve the lowest price that restricts the resale of goods to third parties”, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission immediately intervened in the investigation. This has also become a target for China“Vertical price monopoly agreement”'s first enforcement case.
w88 login told a China News Service reporter that in“Vertical price monopoly agreement”As for the specific operation of the investigation, there are currently two paths internationally: one is“Illegal itself”, that is, as long as there is such as in this case“Limited minimum resale price”occurs, it is determined to be illegal; the other is“Reasonable analysis”, this pattern requires further evaluation“Limited minimum resale price”Impact on competition.
“Judging from the information disclosed by the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the law enforcement agencies did not adopt a direct determination of illegality per se, but chose one based on industry analysis and economic analysis‘Reasonable analysis’Method”, w88 login said that this judgment rule means that not all restrictions on the minimum resale price will be judged as“Vertical Monopoly”。
w88 login pointed out that judging from existing practice, companies that are generally industry leaders, have strong market positions, and have high consumer loyalty have achieved“Vertical price monopoly agreement”has a greater effect of eliminating and restricting competition. Because of this, the Sichuan Development and Reform Commission specifically stated in the communiqué issued today“Wuliangye plays an important role in strong-flavor liquor and has low product substitutability”; Moutai’s position in Maotai-flavor liquor is also one of the prerequisites for its investigation.
“Even if companies within a limited range implement minimum prices, further analysis and evaluation are required”, w88 login pointed out that from the details given by the Sichuan Development and Reform Commission, it can be seen that this analysis will be mainly reflected in three aspects: whether intra-brand competition is affected, whether inter-brand competition is weakened, and whether consumer interests are harmed.
w88 login pointed out that from limited scope to in-depth analysis, this law enforcement idea is not only in line with common foreign practices, but also basically consistent with the trial analysis methods of judicial agencies. In this sense, this case is a good start for China's enforcement of vertical price monopoly agreements.
w88 login emphasized that after Moutai and Wuliangye received fines one after another, China’s judgment rules for vertical monopoly agreements have become clear. This means that similar companies in other industries in China should also review their existing distribution models and conduct antitrust compliance in a timely manner.
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http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2013/02-22/4589085.shtml
