The board of the National Commission in Defense of Competition, (Procompetencia) has announced a fine of RD$46 million against the Cervecería Nacional Dominicana (CND) for the abuse of its ‘dominant position’. The CND is the manufacturer of Presidente beer, now under ownership of Ambev, a Brazilian brewing company that is itself owned by Belgian company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The fine was immediately rejected by the company. The fine is the maximum sanction established by law, and corresponds to 3,000 minimum salaries as announced in a press conference held by the director of Procompetencia, Yolanda Martínez.
Procompetencia also ordered CND to stop what they called abusive behavior and the cancelling of contracts underwritten under these conditions.
Procompetencia said that CND “was abusing its dominant position holding more than 98% of the market, imposing restrictions which had neither objective or economic justification, such as the imposition of resale prices, closing markets by means of exclusive distribution contracts, commercialization, promotion and publicity, restrictions of the visibility and space in the competitor brand displays”.
CND said that it would appeal to the Higher Administrative Court (TSA) and that its commercial activities, defending that its activities are carried out in the spirit of free competition with transparency.
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Al Momento
11 December 2018
