Report price fixing and other anti-competitive agreements between companies

Cartels harm the overall economy and, above all, consumers.

When competitors coordinate their behavior in a market in order to restrict or eliminate competition, it is referred to as a cartel. Such agreements between companies are fundamentally prohibited. The Federal Cartel Office prosecutes such cartels and can impose substantial fines on the responsible individuals and companies.

If you become aware of a cartel, you can report it to the Federal Cartel Office. You can also provide anonymous tips.

The antitrust authority will then follow up on your tip and may initiate application proceedings. If you were involved in the cartel and help uncover it, you may be able to escape the cartel unpunished under certain circumstances. The prerequisite is that you did not provide the tip anonymously and not via the whistleblower system.

Under certain conditions, anti-competitive agreements may be exempted from the prohibition of cartels. This can be the case, for example, if the agreement improves the production of goods or promotes technical progress while at the same time allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefit. Certain forms of cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises are also permitted.

Should you have insider knowledge or knowledge of illegal agreements, please contact the Federal Cartel Office by phone or in writing.

• You can also submit anonymous reports via the whistleblower system.
• The proceedings before the antitrust authority then involve
  • who has requested the initiation of a proceeding;
  • Cartels, companies, economic or professional associations against which the proceedings are directed;
  • Persons and associations of persons whose interests are significantly affected by the decision and whom the cartel authority has joined to the proceedings upon their application.

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