Tesco is set to be reprimanded by the UK’s Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) over its alleged treatment of suppliers.
TheGuardian.com has reported that the GCA is today (January 26) expected to reveal the findings of its investigation into allegations that the retailer breached the industry code of practice by delaying payments to suppliers, as well as demanding extra fees.
The GCA can ‘name and shame’ companies, as well as issue public recommendations, but in this case, cannot fine Tesco, because the offences it allegedly committed would have taken place before the British government gave the GCA the power to fine a company up to 1% of its revenue.
The probe into Tesco’s dealings with suppliers by the GCA was announced last year, and is the first undertaken by the organisation since it was established in 2013.
Tesco has already admitted that there are likely to have been instances where it breached the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, even noting this in its latest annual report.
“Regrettably, we have concluded that there have been a number of instances of probable breaches of the code which fall short of the high standards we expect to uphold in our dealings with our suppliers,” Tesco stated.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
