Brno, 4 August 2025 – The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) has once again imposed fines totaling more than CZK 279 million (approx. €11.3 million / $12.3 million) on three major meal voucher issuers for engaging in illegal coordination of business terms that restricted competition.
The fines are imposed on the following companies:
- Pluxee Česká republika a.s. (formerly Sodexo Pass Česká republika a.s.): CZK 132,271,000
- Edenred CZ s.r.o.: CZK 101,940,000
- Up Česká republika s.r.o.: CZK 44,941,000
The decision comes as a first-instance ruling, following a 2023 instruction by the authority’s chairman to clarify the legal reasoning behind the fines. While the factual finding of infringement is now final, the ruling itself is not yet legally binding—parties may still file appeals with the chairman of the ÚOHS. Parallel legal proceedings are also ongoing before the Regional Court in Brno, which is reviewing lawsuits filed against the 2023 decision.
According to the authority, the three companies coordinated their business practices from 1 May 2004 to 25 June 2018, specifically by jointly setting restrictive rules on how many paper meal vouchers customers could use per purchase in retail chains—typically no more than five per transaction.
This collusion amounted to a horizontal agreement—a prohibited practice under both Czech and EU competition law. It significantly disrupted the market for the issuance, sale, and redemption of paper meal vouchers in the Czech Republic, and also had the potential to affect trade between EU member states.
The ÚOHS found that this behavior constituted a concerted practice designed to eliminate competition and declared the agreement illegal and void.
This is the second time the authority has issued sanctions in this case, having previously confirmed the anti-competitive conduct in both first- and second-instance rulings in 2022 and 2023.
Source: Czech Competition Authority (ÚOHS) – Case 25/141 – S0242/2018
Press Office of ÚOHS
