Carrefour files appeal with Supreme Court

Carrefour files appeal with Supreme Court

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Carrefour filed an appeal on Tuesday with the Supreme Court to
challenge a lower court's and Business Competition Supervisory
Commission (KPPU)'s ruling declaring the local unit of the giant
French retailer guilty of unfair business practices.

KPPU declared on Aug. 19 that Carrefour had carried out an
unfair business practice by applying a "minus margin" policy in
its contracts with suppliers. The commission imposed a Rp 1.5
billion (US$148,515) fine on the company and demanded it stop the
much-disputed terms of trade.

Carrefour filed an appeal to the ruling at the South Jakarta
District Court on Sept. 13. The court rejected the appeal on Nov.
16 and upheld KPPU's ruling.

In a statement sent on Tuesday however, Carrefour rejected the
ruling from KPPU and the South Jakarta District Court, saying
both had misinterpreted the terms of trade as an unfair business
practice and had imposed a groundless sanction.

"We object to the ruling and therefore we are appealing to the
Supreme Court," director of corporate affairs Irawan Kadarman
said in the statement.

A minus margin is a penalty Carrefour imposes on a supplier
that sells its products at a lower price to a competitor of
Carrefour. Carrefour has inserted the minus margin policy in its
trading terms since early 2004 and said that it was a negotiable
term.

The legal saga involving the company began when the
Association of Modern Market Suppliers (AP3MI) filed a complaint
with the KPPU citing unfair competition late last year.