Cermat wins 11-year antitrust dispute, to receive fine refund

The Center for Educational Results (Cermat) has won an eleven-year legal battle against the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS). The antitrust authority has terminated the administrative proceedings after finding no grounds to impose a sanction, meaning Cermat will be refunded the 350,000 CZK fine it previously paid.

The dispute originated in 2015 when the ÚOHS imposed a 500,000 CZK fine—later reduced to 350,000 CZK—on Cermat for selecting NESS CZECH through a non-published negotiation procedure without a competitive tender. Cermat had argued the decision was made due to urgent time constraints regarding the information infrastructure for the maturita exams.

Following multiple rulings from the Regional Court in Brno and the Supreme Administrative Court, which repeatedly overturned the authority's decisions and returned the case for reconsideration, the authority finally halted the proceedings. The final decision follows the Supreme Administrative Court's May 2023 ruling that required the authority to re-evaluate the case in light of legal precedents.