MEXICO CITY 14-Sep-2022 .-The Federal Commission of Economic Competition (Cofece) fined 296 million 323 thousand 15 pesos to Infra and Cryoinfra for failing to comply with the commitments they assumed to restore competition in the markets of industrial liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon.
These commitments were established in exchange for the early closure of an investigation that had been opened for the possible carrying out of monopolistic practices relative.
In April 2014, the Cofece Investigative Authority initiated an investigation derived from a complaint about the possible participation of various economic agents in actscontracts or agreements with the purpose or effect of unduly displacing its competitors or preventing their access to the market.
Specifically, the markets in which the probable anticompetitive conducts were investigated were those of distribution and commercialization of industrial liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon in bulk through pipes unloaded in a cryogenic container at the customer’s address, with a regional geographic dimension.
The Coffee He mentioned that the liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon they serve as inputs in the production of other goods and are used in various industries, such as aerospace, aeronautics, automotive, food, chemical, oil and gas, metallurgical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, refining, water treatment, and in welding and manufacturing of metals.
Through the use of the instrument provided in the Federal Law of Economic Competition (LFCE), Infra and Cryoinfra requested in 2018 the early closure of the procedure followed in the form of a trial, and for this they presented to the Commission Plenary various commitments to suppress the investigated conduct and restore the process of competition and free concurrence. However, derived from Verification processit was proven that the companies failed to comply in a generalized way with several of the commitments assumed.
“The foregoing violated the verification process and the corrective effect of the Plenary resolution to restore competition in the markets.
Infra and Cryoinfra breached the obligations of the agreed commitments by presenting untimely or not presenting the information related to the Verification process, as well as by not modifying the current contracts to eliminate the clauses of exclusivity or automatic renewal of contracts for more than one year, determined the regulatory body.
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For this reason, the Plenary of the body imposed the fines and granted them a period of 45 business days from the notification of the resolution to prove compliance with all commitments. Otherwise, fines may be imposed as an enforcement measure for up to equivalent to 1,500 times the daily value of Unit of Measurement and Update (UMA) for each day that passes without complying with the order.
Once the matter has been resolved and the parties have been notified, the sanctioned economic agents have the right to go to the Judicial power of the Federation to review the legality of the action of the Coffee.
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