On 29/01/2015, the Board of the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) determined, pursuant to articles 7 and 17 of Law no. 19/2012, of 8 May, the opening of an investigation in a infringement proceeding in the context of possible competition restrictive practices carried out by Fiat.
The investigation identified the existence of Extended Warranty Contracts that conditioned the benefit of the extended warranty, contracted by consumers, to the performance of repair and maintenance services within the Official Fiat Network, with such a condition possibly constituting a violation of article 9 of Law no. 19/2012 of 8 May. This condition appears to be a violation of Article 9 of Law 19/2012 of 8 May and of Article 101 TFEU, not covered by Commission Regulation (EU) No 461/2010 of 27 May 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) TFEU to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices in the motor vehicle sector.
In order to address the competition concerns raised by the AdC, Fiat amended all relevant contracts and documents that could contain the contractual restriction identified, having submitted, on 21 December 2015, a set of commitments that involve, namely, the obligation not to insert, in its contracts and other documents, as well as in its official website any contractual provision that limits the triggering of the extended warranty to maintenance and/or mechanical interventions within the brand's official network, further undertaking to disclose to its official dealer and repairer network, as well as on its website, the absence of restrictions on the possibility of consumers resorting to independent repairers without losing the benefit of the contracted extended warranty.
The proposed commitments were subject to a Public Consultation between 29 December 2015 and 27 January 2016, and no comments were sent to the AdC.
In view of the commitments presented by Fiat, the AdC concluded that it was in a position to accept them, making their compliance mandatory for Fiat, in order to ensure the application of the rules for the promotion and defence of competition in the sector of the provision of after-sales assistance, repair and maintenance services, in compliance with the principle of market economy and free competition, as well as the consumers' interests.
On 18 February 2016, the AdC Board determined, pursuant to Article 24(3)(d) of Law no. 19/2012 of 8 May, the closure of the PRC 2015/2 case, upon acceptance of commitments and imposition of conditions.