The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (the “Office”) recently conducted thorough investigations across various food and agricultural sectors to ensure compliance with the amended Act on Significant Market Power and Unfair Trade Practices (the “Act”). This article sets out the main takeaways from the Office’s investigation report.

Broadening the Scope of Regulation

The amendment, effective as of 1 January 2023, significantly broadened the range of market players affected by the Act’s obligations. Previously, only about 10 to 20 entities were in scope. Now, the obligations apply to all buyers of agricultural products or foodstuffs with a turnover exceeding two million and whose suppliers are in a lower turnover band. The Office estimates that hundreds, if not thousands of buyer entities are now in scope. 

Among others, the amendment expanded the list of directly prohibited unfair practices from 11 to 22, and included 3 new practices which are presumed unfair if supply conditions were not concluded in written form. See our earlier analyses of the amendment here and here.

Office Initiates Compliance Enforcement

The Office has concluded the first wave of investigations, this time focusing only on compliance with (i) written form and content requirements for supplier contracts and (ii) the obligation for payment deadlines of no more than 30 days. Investigations were carried out in 21 submarkets, in each of which the Office focused on one category of food or agricultural product. In total, the Office investigated about 500 entities and more than 4,000 supplier contracts.

The report finds wide disparities in compliance across the different markets. One of the most common issues is non-compliance with the maximum 30-day payment deadline in contracts for the purchase of food and agricultural products. Further issues were found in relation to compliance with contract content obligations in the provision of associated services, such as marketing or intermediation. 

First Wave of Fines – and More Incoming?

The Office initiated a total of 15 administrative proceedings for non-compliance with the Act, of which 9 have already been concluded. In 7 cases, fines have been handed out by the Office and in 2 cases, the Office has accepted proposed remedy measures from the competitors and stopped the proceedings.

Currently, the Office is conducting preliminary assessments to determine if administrative proceedings need to be initiated in any further non-compliance cases. In 2025, the Office aims to continue analysing and supplementing the information gathered in the investigations and to sanction non-compliance with the Act.

The published report on the investigation shows the Office’s priority in monitoring and enforcing compliance with the new rules. Given the massive expansion of the scope of regulated persons, firms active in the agricultural or food sectors should assess whether they are in scope and ensure their compliance to avoid fines.

The Office’s press report and the full text of the report can be found here (in Czech only).

If you need more information or further guidance in this area, please contact Vojtěch Chloupek and Martin Taimr.

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