Pósturinn admits to having gone against instructions as part of a settlement.

By decision
Competition Authority No. 10/2020 , published today, outlines an agreement
which the supervisory authority has made with Íslandspóstur ohf. regarding the company's breaches of
conditions which rest on the company on the basis of decision no. 8/2017, Measures to strengthen the competitive conditions in the postal market. 

With the aforementioned agreement
PostNord admits to having gone against instructions in the company's agreement with
The Competition Authority has been in operation since 2017 and is required to pay five million króna in
administrative fines for this.

Excerpt from the Iceland Post
related to its former subsidiary, ePósti ehf., and consisted, on the one hand, in
Íslandspóstur had not sought the approval of the Competition Authority before
The operations of the subsidiary ePóstur ehf. were transferred to Íslandspóstur and a merger was carried out.
the association was put into effect and, on the other hand, for having failed to
to review the terms of previously granted loan financing to ePósts, despite it being clear
that the terms were below the market terms enjoyed by comparable companies.

Very important
is that companies comply with the conditions to which they agree in a settlement with the Competition Authority.
On the other hand, the Competition Authority believes that it is possible to agree to some extent.
the views that Íslandspóstur has put forward in its defence in
the case and were partly taken into account when determining the fine.

Background information:

At the beginning of 2017
Íslandspóstur entered into a settlement with the Competition Authority, which is published in a decision.
Competition Authority No. 8/2017, Actions
to strengthen the competitive conditions in the postal market. This is a bilateral matter.
an agreement between the Competition Authority and Íslandspóstur in which an attempt is made to
to permanently resolve the competitive problems that had crystallised in
various suggestions and complaints regarding the activities of the association that had been received
The Competition Authority. Most of the complaints were directly or indirectly related to
suspicions of competitors that the profit from PostNord's monopoly operations had
was used to cross-subsidise the competitive activities of Íslandspóstur.

The settlement provides, among other things,
concerning which activities of Íslandspóstur should be run in a separate subsidiary. Was that
inter alia, done for the purpose of delimiting Íslandspóstur's competitive activities as much as possible from
the proprietary activity. Then, in a more specifically defined manner, it provides for
operational and managerial independence of subsidiaries and also implemented
Detailed conditions regarding Iceland Post's dealings with subsidiaries, particularly in that respect.
a sense of ensuring a level playing field for competitors of Íslandspósts' subsidiaries in business with
Íslandspóstur. Furthermore, the authorisation of Íslandspóstur to finance its operations
Substantial restrictions were placed on the subsidiaries to ensure that competition is not distorted.
markets in which the subsidiaries of Íslandspósts operate. It then provides that approval
The competition authority must be in place before the operation of a subsidiary is
transferred into the parent company, Íslandspóstur, and the subsidiary was dissolved. On the basis of the settlement, a levy was also imposed.
establishes a special supervisory committee to monitor the agreement, receive complaints and
makes decisions in accordance with the provisions of the settlement.