• The UOKiK has launched proceedings against Poczta Polska, Poland's main postal operator.
• The company may be abusing its market position to eliminate its competitors.

Poczta Polska (PP) enjoys the status of designated operator and is obliged to offer general postal services. This means it has been granted exclusive rights to deliver some mail, for example letters weighing up to 2 kg, including registered mail.

In the case of other (non-general) postal services, PP must compete with other companies. It can then take on two roles – of a competitor and a contractor, as independent companies must often use PP's infrastructure to provide their services to customers.

The UOKiK has initiated proceedings against Poczta Polska. The Office will check whether the company has been using its position to eliminate competing companies from the market. Concerns have been raised by the terms and conditions of contracts which PP concludes with contractors that offer non-general postal services.

For example, the contractor must provide trade information about the customers for whom it provides services. The possession of such data by PP already at the contract signing stage seems unjustified as it may lead to acquisition of customers from its competitors.

There is no fixed pricelist, either. The pricing is conducted separately for each contractor. This may mean that an independent company offering postal services could be unable to quote the price of postal services for its customers from the very beginning. This may negatively affect its attractiveness as a trade partner.

Additionally, a Poczta Polska contractor must in advance specify the number of mailed items in a given settlement period. If there are fewer of them, a shortage of even a single one, the price for all the items may increase to a rate applicable to small mailing volumes.

"In accordance with the antitrust law, companies which enjoy a dominant position on a given market must not use it to limit competition. We will check whether in this case we are dealing with such an activity and an attempt to eliminate competitors. Lack of competition usually translates into higher prices and lower quality of products and services," says the President of UOKiK, Marek Niechciał.

In accordance with the law, the abuse of the dominant position may involve a fine reaching up to 10 percent of a company's turnover. Not all proceedings end in financial penalties. In justified cases, the Office president may oblige the company to change its practices.

Additional information for the media:
UOKiK Press Office
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone: 695 902 088, 22 55 60 430
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL