Page 22 - FAIR TRADE COMMISSION 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Fair Trade Commission Annual Report 2023
Due to high product homogeneity, price was a principal means of competition in the supply of ready mixed concrete. The 18 suppliers negotiating the allocation of supply cases to prevent having to compete for customers obviously had an effect on the competition mechanism in the ready mixed concrete market in Taoyuan City. It was an illegal concerted action likely to cause the prices of ready mixed concrete to go up gradually and indirectly pump up the costs of construction projects.
The Commission concluded that the mutual understanding of the 18 ready mixed concrete suppliers on the allocation of ready mixed concrete trading counterparts to prevent competition was able to affect the supply-demand function in the ready mixed concrete market in Taoyuan City. It was a concerted action forbidden by the Fair Trade Act. Therefore, the Commission imposed on the suppliers fines ranging from 500,000 to 50 million dollars. The fines totaled 213,100,000 dollars.
● Hospitals Achieved a Mutual Understanding on a Joint Increase in Regis- tration Fees
Registration fees are necessary administrative expenses that people must bear when seeking medical care at clinics and hospitals and increases in such fees have an effect on people’s interests. The Commission received complaints that Yeezen General Hospital and Ten-chen General Hospital jointly raised their outpatient registration fees on Sep. 1, 2022. However, the investigation revealed that the two hospitals not only simultaneously increased the outpatient registration fees, but had also previously raised the emergency registration fees on Jan. 1, 2022.
Both Yeezen General Hospital and Ten-chen General Hospital were located in Yangmei District, Taoyuan City, not far from each other. The investigation showed that Ten-chen General Hospital learned about the intention of Yeezen General Hospital to increase emergency and outpatient registration fees. Comparisons of related documents indicated that price increase information or files had obviously been passed between the two hospitals before they established a mutual understanding to raise emergency and outpatient registration fees on the same dates. It was a concerted action prohibited by the Fair Trade Act. Hence, the Commission fined Yeezen General Hospital 900,000 dollars and Ten-chen General Hospital 700,000 dollars. The fines totaled 1.6 million dollars.
20