THE COMPETITION COUNCIL INITIATED THE INVESTIGATIONS CONCERNING ACTIONS OF AB LIETUVOS TELEKOMAS AND UAB POREKTUS

Having examined the information available the Competition Council passed a decision to initiate two new investigations.

1. In response to the request of UAB Microlink Lietuva, UAB Baltnetos komunikacijos, UAB Tele 2, UAB Penki kontinentai, UAB Elneta, SE Infostruktūra the Competition Council decided to initiate an investigation with a view to establishing the compliance of AB Lietuvos telekomas actions with the requirements of Art. 9 of the Law on Competition. The above applicants requested the Competition Council to investigate the actions of AB Lietuvos telekomas in the DSL access services market (digital subscriber lines). The applicants claimed that AB Lietuvos telekomas had on numerous occasions upgraded offers of retail services, although the wholesale terms for the same service had not been changed. In view of such developments the applicants have allegedly been precluded from competing with AB Lietuvos telekomas in numerous segments of the retail market and providing the services concerned to consumers on competitive terms. The applicants also claimed that AB Lietuvos telekomas has imposed unfair prices and actions directly related to the application of dissimilar (discriminating) conditions to equivalent transactions with certain undertakings, thus placing them at a competitive disadvantage.

2. The Competition Council passed the decision to initiate the investigation concerning the compliance of the advertising of H.C.A preparation by UAB Porektus with the requirements of the Law on Advertising. The investigation was prompted by the suspicion that the statements concerning the weight loss by using the H.C.A. preparation contained in the advertising offers disseminated by the company might be misleading. The company was distributing packages of weight-loss offers by soliciting them through mail service.

The present investigation is already the third one conducted by the Competition Council concerning the compliance of the advertising of weight-loss methods disseminated by UAB Porektus with the relevant requirements of the Law on Advertising. In 2004, for the published misleading statements while advertising the M.Drozd weight-loss method the UAB Porektus was subjected to a fine of LTL 30,000. The company had appealed the decision of the Competition Council to court, but the court rejected the appeal by concluding that the Competition Council justifiably recognised the advertising as misleading.

In March 2005, following the investigation of the weight-loss method of the French nutrition specialist M.Montignac advertised by the company, and in view of the aggravating circumstances of the infringement (the repeated commitment) UAB Porektus was sanctioned to LTL 45,000. The Competition Council had obligated the company to immediately cease the use of the advertising and publish a statement correcting the misleading statements.