The Lithuanian Competition Council has announced (10 December) plans to appeal a Regional Administrative Court decision that reduced a fine imposed on Švyturys-Utenos alus, one of Lithuania’s largest beverage manufacturers, for obstructing an investigation.
The court upheld the Competition Council’s finding that the company had violated competition law but lowered the fine from €810,790 to €486,470. The reduction reflected mitigating circumstances, including the company’s cooperation during the investigation and its admission of wrongdoing.
However, the court dismissed claims of aggravating circumstances, concluding that the violation was not of “high danger.”
The Competition Council disagrees with this interpretation. It plans to challenge the decision in the Supreme Administrative Court, emphasizing that the destruction of information and obstruction of investigative actions are inherently serious procedural violations. “Such actions can hinder the discovery of violations that harm consumers and the competitive environment,” the Council stated.
The case dates back to April 2023, when an employee of Švyturys-Utenos alus deleted critical data during an inspection by the Competition Council and failed to comply with orders to provide a copy of the information. These actions triggered an investigation into the company’s conduct.
Although Švyturys-Utenos alus later cooperated with investigators and accepted responsibility for the violation, the Competition Council argues that the penalty should reflect the severity of the obstruction.
The Council has 30 days to file its appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court, seeking a reassessment of the reduced penalty.
