Unexpected U-turn by court

“It is surprising that the Market Court reached an entirely different conclusion than the City Court did as regards which markets are affected. We must now accept that the Market Court is imposing stricter requirements than the Stockholm City Court and the Swedish Competition Authority consider to be reasonable. The Market Court has set the bar at a very high level,” says the Swedish Competition Authority’s Director General Dan Sjöblom.

Borås Municipality’s service office has performed services on behalf of the municipality and also sold services to private clients. This includes land and construction works for around SEK 13 million a year.

In 2012 the Swedish Competition Authority turned to the Stockholms City Court to put an injunction on the operation and the court sided entirely with the Swedish Competition Authority in its decision on March 2014. Borås Municipality appealed to the Market Court which has now pronounced its final decision, which cannot be appealed. 

“In the Swedish Competition Authority’s view, municipal tax subsidies should not be used for outcompeting private enterprise,” says Dan Sjöblom.

Read the decision at the Market Court web site (in Swedish)