Estonian Post fined for breach of competition rules
Estonian Post has been fined EUR 36,000 by the national Competition Authority for abusing its dominant position in the market. The charge related to two different instances in which Finnish bulk mail services company Itella Information was given less favourable conditions than one of Estonian Post’s subsidiaries.
The Authority said Estonian Post’s Eesti Elektronpost AS provides similar services to Itella Information, including mail sorting, printing and envelope-stuffing.
But, both mail services companies must rely on Estonian Post itself to provide last mile delivery because it is the only company providing a nationwide delivery network.
The Post fell foul of the competition regulators during a procurement process held by the Estonian government in September 2010, in which the Finance Ministry was seeking partners to run public mail campaigns on its behalf.
The procurement process saw Estonian Post offering “significantly more favourable” delivery terms to its own subsidiary in its bid for the government contract than to Itella Information.
“As a result, Itella Information AS was not competitive in the procurement process,” the Competition Authority ruled, adding that the “serious violation” of the Estonian Post Competition Act had required a EUR 36,000 fine.
