The antitrust fine of 1.2 billion yuan for Apple and Amazon was overturned by the Italian court, so there was no need to pay the money.

CTOnews.com, Oct. 3 (Reuters)-an Italian administrative court today lifted last year's fine of 173.3 million euros (1.21 billion yuan) imposed on Apple and Amazon for suspected anti-competitive cooperation in selling Apple and Beats products.

In November 2021, Italian antitrust regulators fined Apple and Amazon 200 million euros (1.396 billion yuan), an investigation that began in 2020, and regulators accused the two companies of blocking the sale of Apple and Beats devices to dealers to curb competition and keep prices high.

Regulators said the terms of the agreement reached between Apple and Amazon in 2018 meant that only selected resellers could sell products in Amazon's Italian stores, violating EU rules and affecting price competition.

Specifically, Amazon was fined 68.7 million euros (about 480 million yuan) and Apple was fined 134.5 million euros (about 939 million yuan). Regulators also ordered the two companies to stop restrictions and allow retailers of authentic Apple and Beats to enter Amazon's online store in Italy in a "non-discriminatory manner".

CTOnews.com has learned that both Apple and Amazon have appealed the fines. "to ensure that our customers buy real products, we work closely with dealer partners and have specialized teams of experts around the world who work with law enforcement, customs and merchants," Apple said. make sure only real Apple products are sold. " Apple denies any wrongdoing.

Amazon said in a separate statement that it strongly opposed the Italian authorities' decision and that the proposed fine was "disproportionate and unreasonable".

Earlier this year, the total fine was reduced to 173.3 million euros (about 1.21 billion yuan) due to a "major error" in the calculation of the fine.

Amazon welcomed today's ruling in a statement, while Apple and Italy's antitrust regulators declined to comment.