The AdC condemned the National Association of Surveyors to pay a fine of EUR 50,000.00 for restricting competition in the market for the provision of surveying services, through an association decision consisting in fixing the prices of these services.
ANT is a non-profit, national association of professional surveyors, of unlimited duration. This association is independent from the organs of the State, being free and autonomous in the scope of its attributions.
At the date of the Decision, ANT had 729 associates who develop surveying services within the scope of civil construction and public works, as well as other sectors, throughout the national territory.
Within the scope of an infringement proceeding for practices restricting competition, opened by AdC in May 2020, AdC concluded that ANT, as from November 2003, approved and disclosed, on its website, a schedule of fees with a view to promoting a standardization of the prices of the services provided by its associates.
The said table set the amount of fees and other values to be charged by surveyors in the exercise of their activity. In particular, the table segmented the prices of surveyors' activities according to the scale used in the surveying work and the area associated with the space under analysis by the professional, as well as stipulating fixed hourly remuneration values and, furthermore, minimum unit remunerations. On 18.07.2020 the said table was revoked by initiative of ANT.
Thus, ANT, by elaborating, approving and publishing/disseminating, through its website, a schedule of fees, with the fixing of the value of the fees to practice by its members, in order to promote a standardization of the values to be charged for the provision of surveying services developed throughout the national territory, since 29. 11.11.2003 until 18.07.2020, with the object of preventing, distorting or appreciably restricting competition, committed an infringement of the provisions of Article 9(1)(a) of Law 19/2012 and of Article 101(1)(a) of the TFEU.
The AdC concluded the proceedings early due to the cooperation of the Association, which admitted that it approved and disclosed the referred price list and renounced to litigate in court, in a settlement procedure, proceeding with the payment of the fine imposed.
In determining the measure of the fine applicable to ANT, the AdC considered the criteria set out in Article 69(1) of Law No. 19/2012, the application of the rules in its Guidelines on the Calculation of the Fine, as well as the reduction resulting from the application of the transaction regime, pursuant to and for the purposes of Article 27 of Law No. 19/2012.