Rewe complains:

Record cartel fine “massively disproportionate”

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

The food group Rewe is sharply critical of the record cartel fine recently imposed by the Supreme Court (OGH) as the higher cartel court. The "exorbitant penalty" of 70 million euros for "a formal infringement" was "massively disproportionate", criticized the Billa parent company on Thursday.

As reported, the Supreme Court increased the fine originally set by the Cartel Court for Rewe in the amount of 1.5 million euros from 1.5 million euros to 70 million euros following appeals by the Federal Competition Authority and the Federal Cartel Prosecutor. With regard to the Supreme Court's decision, Rewe pointed out that it had "relied on the reasonable legal opinion at the time of the opening" that the rental of the affected location in Wels was "not subject to notification".

"Sustainably disadvantageous for the business location"
"Subsequent notification took place - and the takeover of the location was approved," emphasized the supermarket chain. "However, such a draconian level of penalty in order to achieve deterrent effects is detrimental to Austria as a business location in the long term." 

For Rewe, the amount of the fine for "a formal infringement" is incomprehensible. "It is as if someone were required to pay a fine equivalent to the value of a new car for filling out a parking ticket incorrectly in order to demonstrate that parking tickets must be filled out correctly. 

Supermarket chain wants to examine "all legal options"
The supermarket chain still wants to examine "all possible legal options" "to take action against the ruling". At the same time, the company is reassuring: "We will shoulder any penalty, neither customers nor employees will be burdened by it."

The Rewe case dates back several years: in mid-2018, the then subsidiary Merkur Warenhandels AG (now Billa Plus) took over retail space for a food retail store in the WELAS Park shopping center in Wels, where Weiß Handels GmbH had previously operated a food retail store. This transaction was not initially notified as a merger to the Federal Competition Authority (BWB).