”Recommended retail price”
Many manufacturers take it for granted that they have a say in the pricing of their products, since they know their competitors and want to position their brand in the market. However, this can be legally problematic.
Moreover, as can be inferred from the information published by the Hungarian Competition Authority recently, the authority will continue to take firm action against price fixing, which is considered illegal. This is explained in more detail by an expert from the Jalsovszky Law Firm.
Manufacturers often try to influence the resale price of the goods they put on the market in some way (resale price maintenance, RPM). The simplest case of this is when the manufacturer or supplier stipulates the fixed price at which the retailer should sell a product. However, market participants often try to influence the pricing of their products with much more sophisticated means: applying a minimum price, prescribing a minimum or fixed margin level, applying recommended prices, which are rewarded if they are met, while penalties are imposed if they deviate.
According to competition law regulations, all such restrictions are illegal if the supplier thereby tries to restrict the retailer’s freedom to set prices. Moreover, in the case of such restrictions, it is not even necessary for the parties to include them in writing, in a signed contract. The GVH will establish a violation even if the price fixing takes place, for example, via email, SMS or WhatsApp. To establish a violation, it is not even necessary for the price fixing to actually take place, the supplier is trying to enforce it.
It is also irrelevant under what name the parties use to fix the prices. Just because a price is marked as a “recommended price” on a price list does not make the practice legal if the trader is not actually free to decide on the price.
Authority strictness continues
RPM is not just a theoretical competition law problem. The GVH has already uncovered numerous violations and has acted on such cases several times in recent years. In addition, the authority just a few days ago published a notice, in which it emphasizes that RPM is a particularly serious violation of competition law. The reason for this is that price fixing reduces competition among traders and keeps prices artificially high, which ultimately harms consumers. The publication of the notice also indicates that the GVH treats price fixing as a priority, so it is expected that the GVH will initiate new procedures in the future to uncover violations.
The GVH’s new procedures will not be without precedent. The Competition Authority has already initiated several procedures in connection with RPM violations in recent years. In 2025, the GVH imposed a fine of 13.5 million forints on Lutec Lighting Kft., with the company admitting the infringement. Based on the decision, Lutec determined the consumer prices at which specialist retailers could resell certain products. It tried to enforce compliance with the prices, including by threatening to refuse delivery.
The 2026 case of Maspex Olympos Kft. is of even greater significance, in which the GVH imposed a fine of 335.95 million forints. The GVH stated in its decision that between 2015 and 2023, Maspex employed a practice with its wholesale partners aimed at setting and enforcing minimum resale prices. In this case, the GVH examined not only the contractual provisions, but also the price lists and the communication with partners.
What can the supplier legally do?
“Suppliers may offer consumer prices, but no reward may be attached to their application, and no sanction may be attached to their deviation. The application of the recommended price is therefore, in principle, lawful, as long as it does not affect the free pricing of retailers”– explains senior lawyer Eszter Fodor.
The parties may also agree on the application of a maximum price, however, here too the condition is that the parties do not interpret the maximum price as a fixed price, the retailer may deviate from it – downwards.
In certain cases (e.g. in the case of a franchise) it is possible to apply short-term promotions – sometimes lasting 2-6 weeks – when the parties can determine the resale prices in the short term within the framework of the given price campaign. It is important that these should be occasional, short-term promotions, so it is worth examining the planned activity on a case-by-case basis. legality.
Are only large companies affected?
The topic is not only relevant for large companies. A smaller manufacturer, importer or distributor can also easily develop a sales system that carries a competition law risk, just think of the above-mentioned case of Lutec Lighting Kft., where the GVH examined the practices of more than one company with a turnover of several billion and found them to be unlawful.
It is therefore worthwhile to review the reseller and distribution contracts, the communication of price lists and promotional prices, and the application of “recommended consumer prices” from time to time – suggests Jalsovszky’s lawyer.
The rules for fixing the resale price are also important because a competition supervision procedure not only carries a risk of fines, but can also tie up significant internal resources, it can also affect business relationships and the reputation of the company, and in addition, the termination of the infringing practice and compliance measures may also be required. This is why it is important that the company not only tries to mitigate the damage after the GVH’s dawn raid, but also examines its own practices as much as possible, places emphasis on competition law compliance, and trains its employees.
Source: trademagazin.hu
