Fine imposed for non-compliance with a preventive measure

The proceedings originated with a claim filed before the Commission by the corporation Almirante Guillermo Brown S.R.L. (“Almirante”) against the Terminal and its principal shareholder, La Veloz del Norte S.A. (“La Veloz”). Almirante and La Veloz are companies that provide public services for the transport of passengers. The Terminal is the operator of the Bus Station in the city of Salta.

The claim was based on the fact that, as a consequence of the Bus Station operation being granted to the Terminal, the transport companies (which included Almirante) were ejected from their ticket offices by a judicial measure while La Veloz continued operating in its same ticket office.

Additionally, Almirante stated that the defendant had not started the civil works to provide alternative ticket offices and, in fact, had failed to provide them so that the companies could operate within the Bus Station, as was required by a Municipal Ordinance which states that all bus companies must provide their services from the Bus Station in the city of Salta.

On July 10, 2001 the Commission issued a first preventive measure ordering the Terminal to provide ticket offices within the Bus Station to the other bus companies and to offer to Almirante the lease and/or use of a ticket office under commercial conditions which were not discriminatory in comparison with the other companies which were operating under normal conditions. The Terminal later started the civil works, granting ticket offices only to some companies.

The Commission realized that the Terminal had not complied with the aforementioned order and that some of the provisions of the lease could be used as an obstacle to normal market operations.

Therefore, the Commission issued an additional preventive measure on December 28, 2001, ordering the Terminal to:

(i) offer a lease adequate under the conditions required by the Terms and Conditions of the Public Tender of the Bus Station; and

(ii) allow Almirante, within the following 48 hours and until the lease was signed, to use and operate ticket offices.

After verifying through different means that the Terminal had not complied with the preventive measure issued on December 28, 2001, the Commission advised the Secretary to impose a fine of 100 Argentine Pesos per day, resulting in a total fine of 118,300 Argentine Pesos (approximately US$ 38,410 at the current exchange rate). The Commission stated that the sanction could be increased if it found that the Terminal continued to fail to comply with its order. The Secretary adopted the decision of the Commission and, on October 27, 2006, imposed such sanction.

This sanction, although it could be considered low, clearly demonstrates the intention of the Commission to enforce the Antitrust Law.