The Spanish Competition Authority fines the national postal company EUR 32.6 Million for abusing its dominant position through rebates (Correos)

On February 18, 2022, the Spanish Competition Authority (“CNMC”) decided to fine the National Postal Company, Correos, EUR 32.6 million after concluding that the application of certain discounts would have had a potential foreclosing effect on the retail market for the provision of traditional letter mail services to mass mailers from at least 2015 until 2019. 1. Situation of the Spanish postal market and object of the CNMC’s investigation Correos, the parent company of the Correos Group established in 1716, is the main company in the Spanish postal market and one of the leading companies in the parcel delivery sector. The market share of Correos in the relevant market remained stable at around 85% -with slight variations- from 2015 to 2018. However, in 2019, after its main competitor