Tomić should not have excluded Šimatić from the service and sale of BMW spare parts

The Competition Agency (AZTN) has determined that the company Tomić&Co. from Zagreb unjustifiably excluded the company Šimatić d.o.o. from Osijek from the system of authorized service providers and sellers of original spare parts for BMW vehicles, while in the part relating to the distribution of new BMW vehicles, Tomić had a justified reason for unilateral termination of the contract, decisions which the Agency reported in a statement from the last session of the AZTN Council.

The Agency acted upon the request of the company Šimatić and decided that the company Tomić, by unilaterally terminating the “Basic Agreement on the Sale of New BMW Motor Vehicles, Original BMW Spare Parts and Service,” which it concluded as an authorized importer and supplier of BMW vehicles with the entrepreneur Šimatić as an authorized dealer and service provider, unjustifiably excluded the entrepreneur Šimatić from the system of authorized service providers and sellers of original BMW spare parts. In doing so, Tomić, contrary to the Regulation on the Group Exemption of Distribution and Service Agreements for Motor Vehicles, prevented Šimatić from limiting its activity to providing service or selling original spare parts, the statement says.

“Such conduct by the entrepreneur Tomić&Co. is contrary to the comparative practice of the EU which the Agency is obliged to apply, according to which the activities of distributing new motor vehicles and repair and maintenance services are not always related and can be performed by different entrepreneurs,” the AZTN states. The Agency ordered Tomić to reinstate Šimatić into the system of authorized service providers and sellers of original BMW spare parts, considering that Šimatić, as a long-time service provider for BMW motor vehicles, has the necessary experience and expertise to perform this activity, the statement says. On the other hand, the Agency decided that Tomić had a justified reason for unilateral termination of the contract in the part relating to the distribution of new BMW motor vehicles, as the selected quantitative system of selective distribution does not allow the sale of new motor vehicles to unauthorized sellers.  (H)