Swiss concessionaire fined €400,000 for abusing Albania monopoly position

TIRANA, Nov. 13 – Albania’s competition watchdog has fined the country’s vehicle technical control concessionaire around €400,000 for abusing its monopoly position by causing delays and placing car owners at unfavorable position when undergoing compulsory annual and semi-annual inspections. The Competition Authority says it has fined SGS Automotive Albania, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based multinational SGS, at 5.69 percent of its 2017 turnover, which according to financial reports submitted by the company with the National Business Center is equal to 51 billion lek (€408,000). The fine comes only one year before the expiry of the concessionaire’s 10-year concession contract with the…