CPC sanctioned two undertakings for failure to comply with the obligation for cooperation with the Commission in the exercise of its powers

On 28 May 2024, the Commission for Protection of Competition (the Commission, CPC) carried out a dawn raid at the offices of traders of construction machinery and equipment in the proceedings under case No КZK/409/2024. During the dawn raid in the business premises used by the companies, obstructions and difficulties were encountered which prevented the work of the CPC staff during the on-site inspection.

During the dawn raid „O-Rent“ Ltd. has not fulfilled its obligation to cooperate under Art. 46 of the LPC in connection to Art. 50 of the LPC due to the fact that the experts of the Commission were denied access to a mobile phone used by the company's manager; were not granted access to a portable office computer (laptop) found in the inspected premises and used by the company's manager, and were not provided with the opportunity to inspect the e- mail boxes used for business purposes within the companies' activities by the manager of „O-Rent“ Ltd. 

„Ingconsult“ Ltd. has not fulfilled its obligation to cooperate under Art. 46 of the LPC in connection to Art. 50 of the LPC because the system administrator of the company has not cooperated by providing access to the servers of the company. Furthermore, during the dawn raid, there were established interruptions of the access to the official mailboxes of the employees of the company. 

The acts and omissions of the undertakings lead to a permanent inability of the CPC staff to fully perform its duties under Art. 50(2) of the LPC in a timely and meaningful manner, and prevented the Commission from fulfilling its powers to inspect all documents and records related to the activities of the undertakings, to seize electronic, digital and forensic evidence, as well as to seize means of transmission of information and to gain access to any kind of information.

The Commission for Protection of Competition imposed a pecuniary sanction of BGN 23 380 for „O-Rent“ Ltd. and BGN 80 375 for „Ingconsult“ Ltd. The sanctions are within the maximum amount allowed by law of 1% of the company's total turnover for the preceding financial year. The sanctions correspond with the nature of the infringement, aiming to achieve a sufficient deterring effect (prevention) against future infringements of the law.

The full text of the decision is available in the CPC's public electronic register at:  https://reg.cpc.bg