The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) has imposed a fine of CZK 6 million (approximately EUR 240,000) on Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o., part of the North American multinational brewing and beverage group Molson Coors Beverage Company, for abusing its significant market power in breach of Czech law. The decision is final.
The infringement consisted in the systematic application of invoice payment periods exceeding the statutory maximum of 30 days. According to the authority, Staropramen applied unlawful payment terms to four of its raw material suppliers, thereby causing them financial harm. The violations occurred in 60 individual cases during 2023 and 2024, with some invoices paid as late as 215 days after delivery.
Pivovary Staropramen is one of the largest brewing groups in the Czech Republic, operating, among others, the Staropramen and Ostravar breweries. The authority found that the company’s conduct fell squarely within the scope of the Act on Significant Market Power, which aims to protect suppliers in the agri-food sector from unfair trading practices.
The fine represents the highest sanction ever imposed by the Office in the agri-food sector under the Act on Significant Market Power. According to Petr Solský, Deputy Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition, the original fine of CZK 7.5 million (approximately EUR 300,000) was reduced after the company admitted the infringement and cooperated with the authority under the settlement procedure.
In recent years, ÚOHS has intensified enforcement in the agri-food sector following the 2023 amendment to the Act on Significant Market Power and Unfair Trade Practices. Sector inquiries conducted by the authority have led to more than two dozen administrative proceedings. Proceedings against Pivovary Staropramen were initiated in September 2025. In a similar case, the Heineken group was fined CZK 456,000 (approximately EUR 18,000) in 2024 for the same type of infringement.