Commodity exchanges may resume operations, the court has postponed the revocation of licenses
Both commodity exchanges, licensed this year by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, can resume operations. In February and March, KB Profit and the Prague Commodity Exchange filed a lawsuit against the revocation of licenses. the Municipal Court in Prague has ruled that the revocation of the state permit is postponed until it has issued a verdict.
“We have received a resolution of the Municipal Court, in which the action is granted suspensory effect. We are going to resume operations because our clients need to trade and are leaving the competition, “says Milan Nejedlý, Chairman of the KB Prague Chamber of Commerce. KB Profit received the same letter a month ago.
These are two of the three stock exchanges, and municipalities or public institutions can also buy electricity and gas in the Czech Republic, which are alternatives to traditional public procurement. The court justified the decision by saying that the stock exchanges would otherwise have to go into liquidation. This would cause damage that would be irreparable if the court ruled that the ministry’s licenses had been taken wrongly. “At the same time, the court claims that further operation of the stock exchange will not cause damage to third parties,” explains Markéta Puci, a spokeswoman for the Municipal Court in Prague.
KB Profit also wants to continue working. “The General Meeting and the Exchange Chamber shall appoint the agreement, appoint a commission for the passing of brokerage examinations and determine the list of traded commodities. This can be done in one meeting, “says Ondřej Grohar, Chairman of the KB Profit Exchange Chamber.
Time play
The resumption of activities is for the stock exchange not only to retain clients. According to the Commodity Exchanges Act, if the Exchange does not operate for twelve months in a row, the Ministry may revoke its license. Thus, for example, if a court decides in a year that the current revocation of the license is invalid and the stock exchange has not carried out any trade until then, the ministry would again have a reason to withdraw the license.
“Based on the findings, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s view of KB Profit’s activities to date has not changed. It is proven that the defective condition has occurred and has not been remedied, “comments Filip Matys, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and.
If the stock exchange resumes its activities, the Ministry of Industry will also begin to supervise it again. Currently, only the Czech-Moravian Commodity Exchange Kladno has an undisputed license for electricity and gas trading.
KB Profit and the Prague Commodity Exchange are two of the three exchanges on which municipalities or public institutions can buy electricity and gas in the Czech Republic and which represent alternatives to traditional public procurement.