Fair Trade Commission Initiates Investigation into Collection of Online Auction Procedural Charges by Yahoo! Kimo.

Yahoo! Kimo auction site made the announcement that it will collect a 3% procedural charge from sellers selling goods on its site beginning 1 September 2000.  According to the ROC Association for Promoting Rights And Interests in Online Transactions [Chinese: 中華民國網路交易權益促進會], Yahoo! Kimo cannot compel online sellers to pay the procedural charge by asserting that “Yahoo! online sellers in many countries pay the charge” because no online auction site operator but Yahoo! Japan is collecting such procedural charge.  Thus the Association strongly demands that the Fair Trade Commission look into the matter.

In response to the Association’s demand, the FTC said that it is investigating to see whether Yahoo! Kimo’s act of increasing the procedural charge stands as an unfair competition practice by abusing its market position.  The FTC added saying it would also look into the acceptability of Yahoo! Kimo’s collection of the procedural charge.  If found to have engaged in monopolistic practice and abuse of market position in violation of the Fair Trade Act, Yahoo! Kimo will have to pay a penalty of between 50,000 and 25 million New Taiwan Dollars pursuant to Article 41 of the Fair Trade Act.  Further, should Yahoo! Kimo continue the offending practice, fail to correct such practice or take necessary corrective measures within the given period of time, the FTC may impose successive administrative fines on it in the amount of between 100,000 and 50 million New Taiwan Dollars.  (2006.08)

/EMA