Top Takeaways:

• Romania’s Competition Council fined Philip Morris and two partners for IQOS resale price-fixing arrangements.
• The authority found that retail prices and promotional discounts were set through agreements that required supplier approval.
• The fines total more than 135 million lei and are enforceable under Romania’s competition law.

Romania’s Competition Council has imposed fines totaling more than 135 million lei (approximately US$29.8 million) after finding that Philip Morris Trading entered into resale price-fixing arrangements with two distribution and marketing partners for IQOS heated tobacco products.

According to the authority, Philip Morris Trading SRL entered into agreements with Interbrands Orbico and Mediaposte Hit Mail that restricted how IQOS products were priced and promoted at retail.

The Competition Council found that the arrangements set fixed retail prices and discount levels for promotional campaigns conducted at IQOS stands operated by Interbrands Orbico and on the iqos.ro website, which is managed by Mediaposte Hit Mail. Under the agreements, promotional campaigns could be conducted only with Philip Morris Trading’s prior approval.

As a result of the investigation, the Council imposed fines of 78,688,820 lei on Philip Morris Trading SRL, 52,118,418 lei on Interbrands Orbico SRL, and 4,451,897 lei on Mediaposte Hit Mail SA. Interbrands Orbico received a reduced fine after admitting its participation in the infringement.

Competition Council President Bogdan Chirițoiu said the case reinforces the principle that companies must set their commercial policies independently.

“Companies must set their commercial policies independently and not through agreements with their partners,” Chirițoiu said. He added that fixing resale prices and discount levels restricts distributors’ pricing freedom and ultimately harms consumers.

Under Romania’s Competition Law, agreements and concerted practices that prevent, restrict, or distort competition are prohibited, particularly those that directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or impose uniform trading conditions. Resale price maintenance is treated as a serious infringement because it limits price competition at the retail level.

The Council said its decision is immediately enforceable, and that the fines will be collected by Romania’s National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF). Companies subject to Competition Council decisions may challenge the ruling before the Bucharest Court of Appeal, in accordance with Romanian law.

The case adds to ongoing scrutiny across the European Union of pricing practices for next-generation tobacco and nicotine products, where competition authorities have repeatedly warned suppliers against exerting control over downstream pricing, even in selective distribution or brand-controlled retail environments.