NMa Fines KWS for Refusal to Co-operate

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has imposed fines totalling EUR 27,000 (twenty-seven thousand euros) on Koninklijke Wegenbouw Stevin (KWS) due to its refusal to co-operate with certain parts of NMa's investigation. KWS was fined because the company had refused to allow NMa to inspect certain documents. In addition, KWS refused NMa access to one of its offices. Last September NMa announced that it would draw up a report on KWS due to its refusal to co-operate.

EUR 4,500 is the maximum fine that NMa may impose in accordance with the Competition Act for each infringement of the obligation to co-operate. NMa imposed a fine of EUR 27,000 because six different parts of KWS refused to co-operate during the investigation.

In April 2002, NMa carried out investigations at various branches and subsidiaries of Koninklijke Wegenbouw Stevin B.V. into suspected infringements of the Competition Act, including agreements in relation to a tender in Scheemda, cartel agreements between 13 companies in relation to tenders for asphalting projects in Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe, and cartel agreements between 18 companies in relation, for instance, to prices and the division of markets between asphalt plants. Data which NMa encountered at KWS was partly the reason that a report was drawn up in these cases.