On Wednesday 8th February, BMW and Volkswagen (VW) won an appeal in a London tribunal over the British antitrust regulator’s powers to demand information from companies based outside the United Kingdom.
BMW and VW challenged the powers of the CMA to request documents and information relating to a probe into alleged anti-competitive conduct in the recycling of old or written-off vehicles.
In December 2022, the ultimate parent company of the BMW Group, Bayerische Motoren Werke, was fined £30,000, plus a daily penalty of £15,000, for the failure to provide information relating to the investigation.
But the Competition Appeal Tribunal overturned the fine on Wednesday, ruling that the CMA does not have the power to request information held outside the UK from companies based outside the jurisdiction.
VW’s legal challenge to a CMA request for information was also upheld.
A CMA spokesperson said in a statement that the ruling:
“substantially risks undermining our ability to investigate, enforce against and deter anti-competitive conduct that harms consumers, businesses and markets in the UK”. REUTERS
Source www.reuters.com
