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The Fair Trade Commission slaps Apple with a fine of approximately $663,000 (20 million New Taiwan dollars) and orders it stop trying to influence iPhone prices offered by carriers and distributors.

Taiwan’s FTC says that Apple can appeal this ruling, however if things don’t end up going its way, the company can then face a fine of up to NT$50 million in that case. As it stands, the NT$20 million or roughly $663,000 fine has been slapped because Apple is found to have violated the Fair Trade Act by telling carriers and distributors how much they should charge for iPhones despite already having sold them distribution rights.

The commission found that companies were submitting pricing plans to Apple “to be approved or confirmed before the products hit the market.” The price meddling was found to have taken place on three major carriers in Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far Eastone Telecommunication. Since this is a violation of the Fair Trade Act, FTC has fined Apple and has ordered it stop interfering with pricing and let carriers decide what they want to charge for the company’s popular smartphones.

Apple has not commented on this ruling as yet, so its not entirely clear if the company is looking to appeal the ruling. Earlier this year, Taiwan’s FTC slapped Samsung with a combined $442,000 fine for false advertising and initiating an online smear campaign against HTC.

Source: WSJ