​The Competition Council announced on Tuesday that it has opened an investigation into possible abuse of Auto Italia Impex’s dominant position in the supply of original spare parts for brands in the company’s portfolio.

• “The competition authority has indications that Auto Italia has abused its dominant position in the supply of original spare parts for brands in the company’s portfolio, both by applying unequal conditions to the same services offered to commercial partners and by breaking contractual relations. on the grounds that the partner refuses to submit to unreasonable commercial terms.
• These practices may create a competitive disadvantage for some of Auto Italia’s partners, thus affecting competition in the car repair and maintenance market in Romania.” This is stated in the press release of the department.

Auto Italia Impex SRL is the official importer in Romania of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Fiat Professional, Abarth and Maserati brands.

As part of this investigation, the Competition Council carried out unannounced inspections at Auto Italia Impex SRL, and the documents collected are being analyzed by the Romanian Competition Authority under special procedures.

Unannounced inspections are authorized 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 being analyzed. Their compilation is not a preliminary conviction of the guilt of the companies.

The antimonopoly authority also recalled that last year it opened an investigation into a possible violation of competition law by coordinating the market behavior of Auto Italia Impex SRL, which is part of the authorized repair companies of the Auto Italia and Uniqa Asigurări networks.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com