Court decree regarding the appeal against the decision of the Chairman of the Office for Competition and Consumers’ Protection

Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN Spolka Akcyjna ("PKN ORLEN") hereby informs that on 6 October 2010 the District Court in Warsaw – the Court for Competition and Consumers’ Protection (“Court”) passed a decree regarding appeal against the decision of the Chairman of the Office for Competition and Consumers’ Protection (“OCCP”) dated 29 December 2006. The case refers to abusing dominant position by PKN ORLEN on the monoethylene glycols market by acting against the creation of the indispensable conditions for setting or development of the competition through setting the price formula of Petrygo (anti-freeze engine coolant) which was acknowledged as inadequate to increase of monoethylene glycol price. It is the next stage of the OCCP conduct started on 17 November 1999.

In the decree announced yesterday the Court for Competition and Consumers’ Protection allowed the appeal of PKN ORLEN and reversed the appealed decision of the Chairman of the OCCP. The Court quashed the penalty in the amount of PLN 14 m imposed on PKN ORLEN by the Chairman of the OCCP. Moreover, the Court agreed with PKN ORLEN arguments that the Chairman of the OCCP decision consists of essential legal defects and it is necessary to eliminate it from the legal transactions. The Court judged that PKN ORLEN did not abuse dominant position on the monoethylene glycols market.

The decree of the Court is not legally valid. The Chairman of the OCCP has a right to appeal against the decree.

See also: regulatory announcement no 5/2007 dated 16 January 2007, regulatory announcement no 28/2005 dated 6 May 2005, regulatory announcement no 55/2003 dated 11 July 2003, regulatory announcement no 53/2001 dated 14 August 2001 and regulatory announcement no 51/2000 dated 20 July 2000.