El Salvador: Sanctions on Flour Producers Ratified

The Supreme Court of Justice has ratified the sanctions imposed in 2008 on Molinos de El Salvador and HARISA for anticompetitive practices, and $4 million must be paid in fines.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Competition:

The Administrative Court Room (Sala de lo Contencioso Administrativo or SCA in Spanish) of the Supreme Court of Justice ratified in two sentences the sanctions imposed by the Superintendency of Competition (SC) in 2008 on the flour mills Molinos de El Salvador S.A. de C.V. (MOLSA) y HARISA S.A. de C.V. (HARISA), who committed the anticompetitive practice of agreeing to share the market. Following these sentences, both companies will have to stop the anticompetitive practice and pay the imposed fines, which together amount to more than USD $4 million.

On the 23rd of this month, the SCA ruled in favor of the Superintendency of Competition in contentious proceedings initiated by the sanctioned parties[1], confirming the legality of the resolution issued by the SC on September 4, 2008. This court verified that there is evidence, even direct evidence, of the anti-competitive practice sanctioned, which is typified in article 25, literal a), of the Competition Law. Therefore, according to this court "It has been found that in the present case direct elements have been used that have demonstrated communication between the companies sanctioned, in the form of an anticompetitive agreement ".

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