50.3 Proceedings conducted by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection against PZU Życie

On 1 June 2005, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection launched, at the request of several applicants, an anti-monopoly procedure in the matter of a suspicion of PZU Życie’s abuse of its dominating position in the group employee insurance market, which could constitute a breach of Article 8 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act and Article 82 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. As a result of the procedure, on 25 October 2007 the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine on PZU Życie in the amount of PLN 50 million for hindering clients from taking advantage of the offers of the company’s competitors.

The PZU Życie Management Board did not concur with the findings or with the legal arguments set out in the decision. It filed an appeal with the Regional Court in Warsaw, raising 38 formal and substantial objections against the decision made by the UOKiK President. The Management Board of PZU Życie is of the opinion that, in its decision, UOKiK failed to consider all the evidence, made an incorrect legal qualification, and, as a consequence, groundlessly assumed that PZU Życie has a dominating position on the market.

After many years of proceedings, on 30 September 2015, PZU Życie paid the imposed fine of PLN 50 million and the awarded costs of proceedings. On 18 March 2016, PZU Życie filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. During the hearing held on 26 September 2017, the Supreme Court decided to refer the case for resolution to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, which through its judgment on 3 April 2019 ruled on this question. On 24 October 2019, the Supreme Court issued a judgment dismissing the cassation appeal filed by PZU Życie.

Since the fine has already been paid by PZU Życie in 2015, dismissal of the cassation appeal did not have impact on the consolidated financial statements.