Competition Law to change in line with the EU regulation

THE JUSTICE and Development Party (AK Party) has proposed a new regulation for the Protection of Competition. The regulation will replace the dominant position test, in the current legislation with “significantly reducing the efficient competitor test”, applied in the European Union Law, which will put more emphasis on fair competition, even in cases where monopolies are not an issue. With the new regulation, agreements, concerted actions, and association of undertaking decisions that do not exceed market share and turnover determined by the competition board, except violations such as excluding companies from a region or preventing access to customers and the supply amount, will not be subject to investigation. The regulation will also ensure that commitment and reconciliation procedures will be included in the Turkish Competition Law.

Like European Union legislation, competitors will be allowed to present commitments through undertakings or associations of undertakings to solve competition issues in an ongoing, pre-research or investigation process. If the board acknowledges that competition issues can be solved through commitment, it will be allowed to end the ongoing investigations or prevent new investigations by binding these commitments to the relevant undertakings or association of undertakings. Commitments regarding grave violations such as pricing, region, customer sharing or limiting the supply amount between competitors will not be accepted. The board will be allowed to reopen investigations if a factor of the board’s decision is altered, the relevant undertakings or the association of undertakings break their commitments or the decision is based on missing, false or misleading information provided by the relevant parties.

After the beginning of the investigation, the board will be allowed to start the reconciliation process if demanded by the relevant parties or on its motion by considering procedural benefits due to rapid completion of the process or the diversity of views regarding the existence or the scope of the violation. The board will allow a certain period to the investigated parties to submit a reconciliation document in which they accept the existence and the scope of the violation. Submissions after the deadline will not be accepted. The investigation will be concluded with a final decision including detection of a violation or an administrative fine. If the process is completed through reconciliation, the administrative fine may be up to 25 percent and the relevant parties will not be allowed to make the administrative fine or other elements of the reconciliation document a subject matter.

BOARD TO OVERSEE SIGNIFICANT VIOLATIONS

According to another regulation in the proposal, the Competition Authority will not make agreements that restrict competition in the market, concerted practices and decisions or actions of the association of undertakings, except pricing, region or customer sharing and limiting the supply amount between competitors based on market share and turnover. The legislation aims to direct the board resources to more prioritized matters.