The Commissioner of Competition announced today 21.1.26 to Shufersal Ltd. her decision to impose a financial penalty on it amounting to over NIS 8 million.
The decision was made after the Commissioner considered the claims raised by Shufersal in the hearing held for it, and decided to reject them.
The data request was sent to Shufersal, as well as to other companies in the food industry, as part of a study aimed at examining the cost and price structure in the food industry in Israel.
The information provided did not include the required data, particularly Shufersal’s operational expenses. Despite clarifications and repeated appeals from the Authority‘s representatives, Shufersal insisted that the requested information was not available. It eventually turned out that the data existed, and it was provided to the Authority. Therefore, after examining Shufersal’s claims, the Commissioner of Competition decided to impose the financial penalty.
The Commissioner of Competition has the legal authority to request data in accordance with Section 46(b) of the Economic Competition Law. Receiving complete, accurate, and timely data is critically important to the work of the Competition Authority, both in relation to enforcement proceedings undertaken by the Competition Authority, in relation to examining the implications of mergers and transactions for which approval is sought, and in relation to market studies conducted by the Competition Authority.
Non-cooperation from entities required to respond to data requests may harm the reliability of the findings and conclusions derived from the Authority’s examinations, impede its work, and harm the broader public interest.
The Competition Authority will continue to act decisively to ensure that all required data is provided fully, reliably, and accurately, and will take enforcement measures against entities that violate the law.