Court Of Appeals Upholds Carrefour Fine

The Court of Appeal has dismissed Carrefour's final appeal against its fine for not complying with the conditions imposed on its 2007 takeover of Ahold.

UOKiK gave its consent to the takeover on condition that Carrefour sold nine shops before the end of 2008. It then fined Carrefour PLN more than PLN 0.5 million because its disposals of two shops – in Grodzisk Mazowecki and Jaworzno – were not completed until January 2009.

Carrefour's first appeal was rejected in 2011 by the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.  Now, the Court of Appeal has also dismissed the appeal, ruling that the merger conditions were clearly specified by UOKiK and that Carrefour should have been conscious of the severe consequences of not implementing them in time.