Hungarian Competition Authority

According to the decision of the Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal – GVH), the ATI Autóközlekedési Tanintézet Kft., "BILUX" Győr-Moson-Sopron Megyei Gépjárművezető Kft., HORVÁTH TANODA Oktató és Vizsgaközpont Kft., MAZSOLA AUTÓS TANODA Szolgáltató Bt., "New Easy Rider" Autósiskola Járművezető-képző Kft., PANDA Autósiskola, Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Bt., QUALITÄT GÉPJÁRMŰVEZETŐ-KÉPZŐ Kft. (driving schools) and several self-employed people agreed to raise the prices of their trainings regarding the training of category “B” drivers in Győr. The GVH imposed a fine of 19 410 000 HUF (cca 64 000 EUR) on seven undertakings and eight self-employed people.

The GVH established that at their meeting on 5 April 2012 the above-mentioned undertakings and several self-employed people agreed to raise the prices of their trainings with the aim of restricting competition.

During the investigation the GVH seized two e-mails. The e-mail sent by the executive director of the biggest driving school in the town of Győr informed his hospitalised colleague that he had summoned the managers of Győr’s driving schools in order to raise the prices of the trainings for obtaining driving licences. The contents of the e-mail make it clear that the topic of the meeting held on 5 April 2012 was a price increase by a unified amount. The e-mail sent by the executive director on the next day reported the success of the meeting.

The driving schools and self-employed people wished to raise the prices of category “B” trainings in two steps amounting to a total of 20 000 HUF (cca 64 EUR), at the initiative of "BILUX" Győr-Moson-Sopron Megyei Gépjárművezető Kft. The price raise took place in May and in November by an amount of around 10 000 HUF each time.

Through the above-mentioned conduct the undertakings and self-employed people involved in the proceeding infringed the prohibition of restrictive agreements, therefore the GVH imposed competition supervision fines totalling 19 410 000 HUF, as follows:

As the base amount of the fine the GVH regarded the net sum of the revenue from the training of category “B” drivers in 2012, and then it evaluated aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

The Competition Council – among other things – took into consideration the following:

• that horizontal price fixing between competitors is the most egregious competition law infringement

• that the combined market share of the parties is excessively high

• that the agreement was de facto carried out by the parties

The GVH terminated the competition supervision proceeding with regard to the following behaviour of the parties:

• trainings outside of Győr during the whole investigated period

• behaviour relating to driving licences and courses not involving the training of category “B”   drivers

Case number: Vj/40/2013.

Budapest, 3 December 2014.

Hungarian Competition Authority

Further information:
Andrea BASA
Spokesperson
Mail: 1054 Budapest, V. ker. Alkotmány u. 5.
Postaddress: 1391 Budapest, 62. POB 211
Tel: (+36-1) 472-8902
Email: basa.andrea@gvh.hu, press@gvh.hu
http://www.gvh.hu