According to reports from foreign media, the competition regulator in Slovakia has announced a fine of nearly 40 million Slovak koruna (equivalent to approximately 828,000 yuan) imposed on an online store in Slovakia. The reason behind this penalty is due to misleading information provided by the store, suggesting that it was possible to legally order e-cigarette products from Hungary.
The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has indicated that last summer it conducted an investigation into two Slovakian online stores selling e-cigarette products such as ELFBAR on Hungarian-language websites. The competition regulatory body took interim measures by promptly closing down these online shops until the case is concluded.
The first case concluded with the highest fine at the end of last year, while the case involving another online store has just reached a decision. Investigations have revealed that the company has also misled Hungarian consumers, leading them to believe that their products could be legally sold.
In a statement, Csaba Balázs Rigó, the President of GVH, said, "The company has violated explicit industry regulations and distribution bans, with some of its actions targeting children and adolescents, who are more vulnerable consumer groups. Furthermore, the position of the National Public Health Center is that these products may pose health risks.
The Slovak Competition Commission has imposed the maximum fine of 38.7 million Slovak crowns (about 820,000 RMB) on Bensons Europe s.r.o., a subsidiary of Parkni, an automobile parts manufacturer. The company had previously paid a fine of 3 million Slovak crowns for failure to provide requested data, which hindered the authorities' investigation.
During the investigation, the GVH also imposed sanctions on the company for circumventing the temporary measures by redirecting its storage location from Hungary to another service provider in order to continue operating the online store. As a result, authorities fined the company and its managers increasingly, ultimately resulting in the closure of the website.
Tax and Customs President Ferenc Vágujhelyi stated in a public announcement, "The Tax and Customs Authority has taken strict measures to combat the illegal trade of e-cigarettes, organizing hundreds of operations to remove this particular tobacco product from the market. So far, the total value of confiscated goods exceeds 160 million forints, with fines totaling over 20 million forints.
Biro Marcell, the Chairman of SZTFH, has reminded that "at the beginning of the last academic year, SZTFH launched a project called the Anti-bar Alliance, in cooperation with the Competition and Economic Regulation Agency, the Ministry of Interior, the National Tax and Customs Office, the Tax and Customs Administration, the National Police Headquarters, and the Marie Curie Research Institute. The objective of this collaboration was to protect the health of young people. Though illegal activities have been successfully eliminated from schools and public institutions through stringent and coordinated efforts, they have shown interest in pursuing more effective and successful actions in the online domain.
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