The Romanian Competition Council has issued a fine of 5,181,216.887 lei (approximately 1 million euros) to Philips România SRL. The sanction was imposed after the company supplied incomplete documentation during an unannounced inspection at its corporate premises.
The obstruction occurred when an employee uninstalled the WhatsApp application from a professional mobile device after being notified of the ongoing inspection. This action restricted competition inspectors from accessing potentially relevant information related to the scope of the investigation.
The dawn raids took place between July 28 and July 30, 2026, targeting Philips România SRL alongside 10 distributor and reseller partners operating within the medical ultrasonography and hospital patient monitoring equipment markets. Authorized by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, these inspections aimed to gather necessary records to clarify potential anticompetitive practices, though the authority emphasized that the procedure does not constitute a prejudgment of guilt.
Under national competition law, inspectors possess full authority to examine all documentation relevant to an inquiry. Companies that fail to cooperate or obstruct inspections face statutory fines ranging from 0.5% to 1% of their total turnover generated in the preceding financial year.
