Novelties and maximum fines in the practice of the GVH

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 12. 14. 11:34

As of September 1, 2023, the maximum amount of the fine that can be imposed by the GVH has increased – it was said, among other things, at the business breakfast of the Schönherr Hetényi Law Office dealing with competition law and consumer protection issues. On the occasion, the staff of the office, dr. Anna Turi and dr. Lawyers Márk Kovács explained the latest legislative changes and 2023 fines trends in the practice of the Economic Competition Office (GVH), as well as presented the latest competition law and consumer protection decisions (regarding unfair commercial practices) and the judicial aftermath of previous decisions. Finally, the latest (accelerated) sectoral investigations and their results were presented, as well as briefly the essence and interesting issues of competition law compensation lawsuits.

The participants were also informed about the latest developments related to consumer protection, more specifically the prohibition of unfair commercial practices towards consumers. The speakers first presented to the participants the cases in which the Economic Competition Office (GVH) imposed the largest fines in the past year.

This year’s highest fine was the result of a repeated procedure regarding the imposition of fines against Vodafone, after Vodafone successfully challenged the original HUF 1.2 billion fine in court. GVH recalculated, but even so, a fine of nearly one billion HUF – 932 million forints to be exact – was imposed because the company falsely claimed in its advertisements that a larger part of Europe was available on its 4G network than its competitors. The presenters highlighted that, when determining the significant fine, the GVH attached particular importance to the repeated nature of the violation.