On 4 November 2014, the State Administrative for Industry and
Commerce ("SAIC") published a decision in which it found
that the Pizhou branch of the Xuzhou City Tobacco Corporation (the
"Pizhou Tobacco Branch") had abused its dominant position
in the tobacco wholesale distribution market by treating customers
of equal standing in a discriminatory manner. The SAIC found that
the Pizhou Tobacco Branch had violated Article 17 of the PRC
Anti-Monopoly Law (the "AML"), which prohibits business
operators in a dominant market position from engaging in abusive
conduct that eliminates or restricts competition, and it imposed a
fine of RMB 1.7 million.
We set out in this article some points that are of particular
relevance to undertakings subject to the jurisdiction of the AML in
evaluating the legal risks of conduct which may constitute an abuse
of a dominant market position.
