Can I sue a distributor in Serbia for price-fixing that raised my shop’s wholesale costs?

Poštovani,

Možete tužiti za naknadu štete, s tim da je potrebno da dokažete u postupku uzročno posledičnu vezu koju ste opisali. Od dokaza treba da predložite svedoke, dostavite relevatnu dokumentaciju, dokumentaciju iz koje se može videti da da Vam je naneta šteta i potrebno je predložiti veštačenje.

Takodje, postoji mogućnost da prijavite kartelski sporazum Agenciji za zaštitu konkurecije, pa da Agencija po službenoj dužnosti ispita da li postoji kartelski sporazum. U toj situaciji učesnici kartelskog sporazuma plaćaju Agenciji kaznu do 10 posto svog godišnjeg prihoda.

S poštovanjem,

Advokat Jelena Maleševi

If competing distributors are maintaining identical prices, refusing discounts, and implementing price increases simultaneously, this may indicate a prohibited restrictive agreement (cartel) under Serbian competition law. Such conduct is generally prohibited regardless of whether it is formalized in writing or tacitly coordinated.

1. Evidence you should collect

You are not expected to prove the cartel conclusively on your own, but you should preserve and collect all material that may indicate coordination or parallel conduct inconsistent with normal market behavior, in particular:

- Price lists, invoices, offers, or emails from competing distributors showing identical or near-identical prices, terms, or discount policies.
- Evidence of simultaneous price increases, especially if they occurred without an objective market justification.
- Written communications (emails, messages, circulars) suggesting coordination, information exchange, or “industry alignment.”
- Records showing refusals to negotiate or discount, particularly if phrased similarly by different distributors.
- Historical pricing data demonstrating that competition previously existed and disappeared abruptly.
- Any market information showing that cost increases cited by distributors do not objectively justify the price alignment.
- Internal documentation evidencing the impact on your business (margin erosion, lost customers, reduced sales).

Even circumstantial evidence can be sufficient to trigger regulatory scrutiny.

2. Proceedings before the Competition Authority

You may submit a complaint (initiative) to the Serbian competition authority requesting the opening of an infringement procedure. In that process the authority has investigative powers you do not (requests for information, dawn raids, seizure of documents). If a cartel is established, the authority may impose significant fines on the infringing parties. The authority’s final decision can later be used as strong evidence in civil court proceedings.

Importantly, the competition authority does not award damages to injured parties. Its role is public enforcement.

3. Claiming damages before the courts

If you have suffered harm (e.g. increased procurement costs, lost profit, reduced competitiveness), you may claim damages before the competent court, provided you can show the existence of damage and a causal link between the infringement and the damage suffered.

In practice, damages claims are significantly strengthened once the competition authority has confirmed the existence of a cartel, but such confirmation is not an absolute legal prerequisite.

Regarding your query about suing distributors for potential price-fixing: Yes, legal action is possible, but to maximize your chances of success and minimize costs, we recommend a specific strategic approach known as a \"follow-on\" claim.
In Serbia, the burden of proving a cartel agreement in a private lawsuit is extremely high. Therefore, the most effective process is:
We submit an initiative to the Commission for Protection of Competition. They have the investigative powers (which private entities lack) to seize evidence and officially establish that a cartel exists.
Once the Commission issues a formal decision, we use it as irrefutable proof of guilt to file a lawsuit in the Commercial Court. At this stage, the court’s only task is to quantify your financial damages (the difference between the market price and the fixed price) via an expert financial assessment.
We can review the documentation you currently have and discuss the timeline and costs of preparing the initiative.