The Chairman of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, Petr Mlsna, has definitively confirmed fines amounting to 279,152,000 CZK against ticket voucher publishers Pluxee Česká republika a.s., Edenred CZ s.r.o., and Up Česká republika s.r.o. This decision comes after the companies appealed against the fines, which were originally imposed for engaging in cartel activities.

In his review, Chairman Mlsna focused solely on the legality of the imposed fines, as the companies' guilt had already been established in a previous ruling. The companies argued that the fines were excessively high, calculated based on incorrect revenue figures, and that the authority misapplied its 2018 penalty calculation methodology.

Mlsna stated, “For anticompetitive behavior, especially of such a long duration, an adequate punishment must follow. The authority's approach in imposing fines is entirely legitimate and correct, as it was based on the law and the 2018 penalty calculation methodology. The resulting fines are not disproportionate and are not currently detrimental to the companies.” The final penalties include 132,271,000 CZK for Pluxee, 101,940,000 CZK for Edenred, and 44,941,000 CZK for Up.

The authority had previously ruled in September 2022 that these companies had entered into a cartel agreement, coordinating their business terms regarding the acceptance of ticket vouchers in Czech retail from May 1, 2004, to June 25, 2018. Specifically, they set a maximum number of paper vouchers that could be accepted in a single transaction, which disrupted competition in the market for issuing, selling, and redeeming paper vouchers and services, violating both Czech and EU competition rules.

In October 2023, the Chairman confirmed the commission of the offense but noted that the imposed fines required more precise justification. Subsequently, in August 2025, the authority reaffirmed the original fines, which the Chairman has now upheld.