A particular international freight forwarding company has been given a penalty fine of $1.15 million in the Auckland High Court because it allowed an anti-competitive conduct in the freight forwarding market.

The company in question, EGL Inc, based in Texas, apparently allowed the violation of the Commerce Act by getting into a surcharge deal with the rivals which regulated and maintained the costs for freight-forwarding of the UK with New Zealand.

EGL is considered to have made a small six-figure amount from its collusion.

Entities were found guilty of cartel behavior. Consequently they were imposed a fine of up to $10 million, thrice the worth of any profit, or a 10 percent of their entire turnover.

Yesterday, Justice Rodney Hansen agreed to the submission made by the commission for reducing the penalty on EGL into half as they had admitted their guilt at an initial stage.

Hansen told that it was in the interest of the public that some substantial allowance is provided for a high level of cooperation, not just for the purpose of recognizing the savings attained but also for having provided the appropriate incentives to the firms and individual members who have engaged themselves in the anti-competitive conduct.