BASF price-fixing fine reduced by 20%

16/03/06 An EU court has granted BASF AG a 20 percent reduction of a price-fixing fine, ruling that regulators failed to prove the company's role as a cartel ringleader. The EU regulator found in 2001 that BASF and other companies rigged the market for vitamins A, C, D and B complex.

The court, while condemning BASF for taking part in the vitamin cartel, cut a penalty imposed in November 2001 to 236.9 million euros from 296.2 million euros because of procedural errors made by the European Commission.

''The commission failed to establish that BASF had acted as instigator or leader of the cartels'' for some vitamins, the European Court of First Instance said in a statement. ''The commission committed certain errors when calculating the fines.''

BASF had its fine cut on Wednesday to 236.85 million euros from 296 million euros and Daiichi, now part of Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., to 18 million euros from 23.4 million euros.

The Court of First Instance said it had rejected most of the arguments by the two companies, but still found errors by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union.

"The Commission failed to establish that BASF had acted as instigator or leader of the cartels relating to vitamins C and D3, beta-carotene and carotinoids and has underestimated the importance of the cooperation of BASF and Daiichi," it said.