On the 27th September 2021, officials of the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) carried out an unannounced inspection (dawn raid), at the premises of an association of undertakings, in the framework of an ex officio investigation in the supply and retail trade of supermarket products and in particular in the markets for cereals, milk, coffee, jam, beverages and cheese, regarding potential anti-competitive practices in the context of horizontal and/or vertical agreements, following the dawn raids carried out on the 9th of September 2021.
The unannounced inspection is part of the preliminary stage of an investigation into anti-competitive practices, pursuant to the provisions of Greek Competition Law 3959/2011.
The fact that the HCC carried out the inspection does not indicate that the inspected association of undertakings has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.
The HCC acts whenever its involvement is necessary, as the authority responsible for identifying potential violations of the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 of Greek Law 3959/2011 and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Facing the potential emergence of distortive phenomena, the HCC, acting as the guardian of the proper functioning of free and competitive markets, takes on the pledge to prioritize, within the remit of its jurisdiction, every relevant case for which it is informed either through a complaint, an application for leniency, or other sources of providing secured digital information (whistleblowing) and it will impose severe administrative sanctions on undertakings which have adopted anti-competitive practices.