Coca-Cola HBC is facing an investigation from Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) for allegedly failing to pay suppliers on time.
The group’s Polish arm is under fire for “excessive delays in fulfilling pecuniary obligations” to its suppliers, according to the UOKiK.
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It is being investigated alongside nine other companies including local pharmaceutical major Delpharm Poznań and transport and logistics group Emerlog.
Responding to the news Coca-Cola HBC told Just Drinks: “We are aware of the pending proceedings and are working with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to help resolve the matter.
“In Poland 90% our supplies are sourced locally, this includes key raw materials and packaging. We work with over 1,000 suppliers in Poland, from small local companies to large international corporations, and greatly value our cooperation with all of them”.
In a statement, the competition watchdog said “excessive delay in fulfilling payment obligations occurs when, over a period of three consecutive months, the sum of the value of all cash benefits not fulfilled or fulfilled after the deadline by a given entity amounts to at least 2m zlotys ($5.2m)”.
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By GlobalDataTomasz Chróstny, the president of the UOKiK, said the companies in question have been alerted of the group’s intent to investigate through so-called “soft notices”, making them aware of “the irregularities observed in the area of payment practices and to discipline them to immediately improve them”.
In a statement, Chróstny added: “Late payments from larger contractors disrupt the financial liquidity of SME companies, destabilising their operational activity, limiting investments and development.
“Therefore, it is unacceptable for large companies not to pay their smaller contractors on time.
“All the more so because during soft [notices] we informed entrepreneurs that failure to improve their payment discipline may result in initiating proceedings and, consequently, a financial penalty.”
The UOKiK is now in the process of calculating the penalty Coca-Cola HBC will face. As it works out the sum of the fines, the group said it will take into consideration “not only the value of overdue payments and the length of delays but also the gravity and circumstances of the violation, actions taken by the entrepreneur on his own initiative to stop the violation, and cooperation with the office during the proceedings”.
The competition authority said it could not yet confirm when the investigation was expected to be complete.
Coca-Cola HBC is also being investigated by Hungary’s anti-trust authority over environmental claims on the packaging of some of its PET bottles.
Earlier this month, Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország (Coca-Cola HBC Hungary), Coca-Cola Magyarország Szolgáltató (Coca-Cola Hungarian Service) and The Coca-Cola Co. were accused of having “likely deceived consumers” by claiming that PET bottles of Coca-Cola Co.’s Hungarian Naturaqua brand were 100% recyclable.
Local non-alcoholic drinks producers Fonte Natura and Szentkirályi Magyarország are also being investigated over both claiming that they had 100% recyclable bottles for their mineral waters and “flavoured drinks”.
