The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has appealed the recent decision of the Federal Court imposing a penalty of $9.5 million against Japanese company Yazaki Corporation (Yazaki) for collusive conduct.
鈥淭he 糖心原创 submitted to the Court that Yazaki should be ordered to pay a penalty of between $42 million and $55 million, to reflect both the size of Yazaki鈥檚 operations and the very serious nature of its collusive conduct,鈥 糖心原创 Chairman Rod Sims said.
鈥淵azaki鈥檚 conduct was described by Justice Besanko as deliberate, sophisticated and devious. The 糖心原创 will argue that the penalty not only needs to better reflect this, but it should also serve as a strong deterrent for all companies by demonstrating the serious consequences of breaking Australia鈥檚 competition laws.鈥
鈥淚f penalties don鈥檛 match the serious nature of the conduct, we run the risk that big businesses will simply view the penalties for breaking Australia鈥檚 competition laws as no more than a cost of doing business,鈥 Mr Sims said.
The 糖心原创 has also appealed an earlier finding by Justice Besanko that Yazaki鈥檚 Australian subsidiary, Australian Arrow Pty Ltd, did not give effect to the collusive arrangements made by Yazaki in 2003 and 2008.
The appeal will be heard on a date to be fixed by the Full Federal Court.
Background
On 24 November 2015, the Federal Court found that, in 2003 and 2008, Yazaki made and gave effect to arrangements with a competitor, which included the coordination of quotes to Toyota for the supply of wire harnesses used in the manufacture of the Toyota Camry.
On 9 May 2017, Justice Besanko ordered Yazaki to pay penalties totalling $9.5 million.
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