{"id":1237,"date":"2019-02-25T19:25:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T18:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.andrelang-law.de\/?p=1237"},"modified":"2026-08-27T09:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:20:00","slug":"purchasing-group-prohibited-price-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andrelang-law.de\/en\/einkaufsgemeinschaft-verbotene-preisbindung\/","title":{"rendered":"Purchasing community: Prohibited price maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Price fixing by dealers in a purchasing group is prohibited. The Federal Cartel Office published this in a statement published on January 29, 2019 Press release<\/strong><\/a> on a fine decision clarified again. There are exceptions to this rule, but only within narrow limits. Read here what is possible under antitrust law.<\/p>\n

Author:<\/em>
\ndr Christian Andrelang, LL.M.<\/em>
\nLawyer<\/em>
\nSpecialist lawyer for international business law Specialist lawyer for commercial and corporate law<\/em><\/p>\n

Price fixing \u2013 what is it about?<\/h2>\n

Instructions given by the seller to its dealers, which oblige them to sell the purchased products at a certain fixed price or not below a minimum price, are contrary to antitrust law. Such clauses are not only ineffective and therefore do not have to be followed. They also trigger antitrust proceedings and significant fines. At best, maximum sales prices may be set. However, these must not be set so low that they actually act like a minimum price, because selling the products below the maximum price is not economically interesting for the retailer.<\/p>\n

Auch unverbindliche Preisempfehlungen<\/a> sind zul\u00e4ssig. Es reicht jedoch nicht, wenn der Verk\u00e4ufer sie lediglich als \u201eunverbindlich\u201c bezeichnet. Der H\u00e4ndler muss in seiner Preissetzungsfreiheit unbeschr\u00e4nkt sein. Alle Ma\u00dfnahmen, die der Verk\u00e4ufer bei einer unverbindlichen Preisempfehlung begleitend ergreift, um die Preisempfehlung durchzusetzen, machen die Preisempfehlung eben gerade nicht unverbindlich, sondern zu einer kartellrechtlich unzul\u00e4ssigen vertikalen Preisbindung<\/a>. Verboten sind daher besondere Anreize wie Boni, Rabatte oder R\u00fcckverg\u00fctungen bei Einhaltung der Preisempfehlung oder Nachteile bei Nichtbefolgung der Preisempfehlung, wie etwa Lieferstopps, Lieferverz\u00f6gerungen oder das Drohen mit einer Vertragsk\u00fcndigung.<\/p>\n

The current proceedings concerned agreements between those responsible for a purchasing group and almost 50 bicycle retailers regarding fixed prices. According to these agreements, retailers were obliged not to fall below the minimum sales prices set by the purchasing group, also known as the \u201clowest price\u201d, when selling current bicycle models. Some of the agreements ran for more than ten years and only ended when the purchasing group's business premises were searched by the Federal Cartel Office. The purchasing group or its representatives also checked whether the retailers adhered to the minimum sales prices. In particular, you have received information from the dealer circle about price undercuts by other retailers or have carried out price research yourself or had it carried out. Bicycle retailers who undercut the minimum sales prices were required to comply with them. This also turns a non-binding recommended price into a fixed price that is not permitted under antitrust law.<\/p>\n

Price fixing \u2013 What\u2019s new for purchasing groups?<\/h2>\n

Das Bundeskartellamt hat gegen diese Einkaufsgemeinschaft ein Bu\u00dfgeld von insgesamt EUR 13,4 Mio. wegen vertikaler Preisbindung festgesetzt. Der Pr\u00e4sident des Bundeskartellamts, Andreas Mundt, best\u00e4tigte dies in der Pressemitteilung vom 29. Januar 2019:<\/p>\n

\u201cZEG has reached agreements with its member companies on final sales prices for certain bicycle models. The independent retailers were encouraged not to fall below the minimum sales prices set by the ZEG for various bicycle models. This also severely hindered price competition between the members of the purchasing cooperation towards the end consumer.\u201d (Source: Federal Cartel Office, online press release from January 29, 2019)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Federal Cartel Office has also made it clear that minimum sales prices can be set not only by the actual sellers of the products, i.e. manufacturers or importers, but also by purchasing groups, and this is contrary to antitrust law. Purchasing groups are, for example, associations of small or medium-sized companies as SME cartels (read here<\/strong><\/a> N\u00e4heres zu Mittelstandskartellen und den kartellrechtlichen Anforderungen), die durch den Zusammenschluss Vorteile im Einkauf, der Vermarktung oder der Finanzierung realisieren k\u00f6nnen.<\/p>\n

Temporary minimum price specifications and thus price maintenance can be permissible under antitrust law, but only under very strict conditions, for example in the case of joint special offer campaigns. However, fixed prices that are practiced and monitored over several years do not meet these requirements, not even in the context of purchasing groups.<\/p>\n

Price fixing \u2013 What does the fine decision mean?<\/h2>\n

On the one hand, it is confirmed that the antitrust authorities are paying increasing attention to compliance with antitrust law in vertical relationships. Any form of price fixing can therefore lead to significant fines if discovered. On the other hand, small and medium-sized companies cannot rely on operating \u201cbelow the radar\u201d of the Federal Cartel Office. The cover of a medium-sized business cartel in the form of a purchasing group, which is permissible in itself, does not protect against the antitrust law of impermissible price fixing.<\/p>\n

Price fixation \u2013 What is important to you now?<\/h2>\n

Vereinbarungen mit einer Preisbindung f\u00fcr Wiederverkaufspreise sollten unbedingt auf ihre kartellrechtliche Zul\u00e4ssigkeit gepr\u00fcft werden<\/a>. Zudem sollte, wenn die Preisbindung aufgedeckt wurde, insbesondere durch so genannte \u201eKronzeugen\u201c, also H\u00e4ndler, die eine Preisbindung aktiv melden, bei der Aufkl\u00e4rung des Sachverhalts kooperiert werden. Bei der Bestimmung der H\u00f6he des Bu\u00dfgeldes wird das Bundeskartellamt regelm\u00e4\u00dfig miteinbeziehen, inwieweit die Preisbindung durch Mithilfe der Beteiligten aufgekl\u00e4rt werden und das Bu\u00dfgeldverfahren einvernehmlich beendet werden konnte. Aber: Auch eine solche Zusammenarbeit mit den Kartellbeh\u00f6rden sollte nicht ohne anwaltliche Beratung erfolgen. Dies gilt insbesondere f\u00fcr das Setzen der Marker beim Bundeskartellamt: Das erste Unternehmen, das einen Kartellrechtsversto\u00df, an dem es selbst beteiligt war, meldet und bei der Aufkl\u00e4rung unterst\u00fctzt, kann in den Genuss eines vollst\u00e4ndigen Bu\u00dfgelderlasses kommen. Schadensersatzanspr\u00fcche der Abnehmer bestehen trotzdem (lesen Sie here<\/strong><\/a> Further information on the statute of limitations for antitrust damage claims).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eine Preisbindung der H\u00e4ndler einer Einkaufsgemeinschaft ist verboten. Dies hat das Bundeskartellamt in einer am 29. Januar 2019 ver\u00f6ffentlichten Pressemitteilung zu einer Bu\u00dfgeldentscheidung nochmals klargestellt. Zwar gibt es Ausnahmen von dieser Regel, aber nur in engen Grenzen. Lesen Sie hier, was kartellrechtlich m\u00f6glich ist. Autor: Dr. Christian Andrelang, LL.M. Rechtsanwalt Fachanwalt f\u00fcr Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht Fachanwalt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,181,172,16,186,21,34],"tags":[72,73],"class_list":["post-1237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-einkauf","category-einkaufsgemeinschaft","category-geschaeftsfuehrerhaftung","category-kartellrecht","category-preisempfehlung","category-schadensersatz","category-vertrieb-und-wettbewerb","tag-einkaufsgemeinschaft","tag-preisbindung"],"yoast_head":"\nEinkaufsgemeinschaft: Verbotene Preisbindung im Kartellrecht | andrelang law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Preisbindungen durch Einkaufsgemeinschaften sind verboten \u2013 Bu\u00dfgeld: 13,4 Mio. Euro. 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