THE SUPREME Court has confirmed the decision of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office (PMÚ) to impose a fine of €9.03 million on oil refinery Slovnaft for misusing its dominant status on the markets for wholesale sale of petrol in 2006 and diesel in 2005-2006, the TASR newswire reported on April 29.
Slovnaft, which has one of the most advanced refineries in Europe, was the leader on the Slovak market in wholesale at the time, and was not exposed to any relevant competitive pressure. According to the court, Slovnaft – taken over by the Hungarian concern MOL in 2000 – misused its status with non-transparent pricing policies, and the setting of prices for customers according to their willingness to pay for fuel, or intention to change the supplier. PMÚ said that Slovnaft had enough information on every wholesale consumer at the time concerning its preferences and attractiveness for competitors, which enabled it to offer individual prices to these customers.
