Competition Authority Concluded 189 Investigations in 15 Years (19.2.2013)
As known, the main purpose of the Act no 4054 on the Protection of Competition is the prohibition of restrictions of competition which may arise as a result of agreements between undertakings, concerted practices and decisions of associations of undertakings, the prevention of abuse of dominance by undertakings holding dominant positions in markets and the prevention of creation of new monopolies through the supervision of certain merger and acquisition transactions.
In order to guarantee and protect competition in the markets, Competition Authority, which was established in order to supervise the enforcement of the Act no 4054 and to carry out the duties specified by the said Act, has concluded and taken taken final decisions concerning a total of 189 investigation files during the 15 years since its foundation through its decision-making body Competition Board.
1. In these 15 years, the most investigations were initiated concerning four major groups: "Transportation", "Foodstuff, Agriculture, Foods and Beverages", "Construction Materials" and "Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare Services and Products".2. Under the "Transportation" heading, a total of 33 investigations were concluded, of which 21 concerned land transportation, 3 concerned air transportation and 9 concerned maritime transportation.
3. Under the "Foodstuff, Agriculture, Foods and Beverages" heading, a total of 26 investigations were concluded, of which 4 concerned the bread market, 3 concerned the yeast market and 19 concerned various other markets including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, mil, fruit, meat, tea and chips.
4. Under the "Construction Materials" heading, a total of 24 investigations were concluded, of which 15 concerned the cement/ready-mix concrete market and 9 concerned other markets including, in particular, the markets for plaster and gypsum, ceramics, sand, bricks and locks.
5. Under the "Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare Services and Products" heading, a total of 24 investigations were concluded, of which 8 concerned the pharmaceuticals sector (pharmaceutical producers, distributors (retail/pharmacy level and tenders)), 9 concerned the medical equipment sector (medical imaging equipment, medical equipment repair-maintenance market, diagnostic equipment market, laboratory equipment market, medical supplies market), and 7 concerned various other sectors including medical gas and optics.
6. In addition to the sectors mentioned above, other sectors worth mentioning in the previous 15 year in terms of the number of total investigations initiated includes "printed and visual media" with 12 investigations, "jewelers and goldsmiths associations" with 9 investigations, "telecommunications" with 8 investigations, and "driving courses" and "banking-insurance" sectors with 4 investigations each.
7. Among the total number of 189 investigations concluded, 146 was conducted in relation to article 4,38 in relation to article 6, and 5 in relation to article 4 and article 6.
8. The average time for conclusion of the 189 investigations is 434 days (14.5 months)1, and on average 3 experts were assigned to these investigations.
9. In these 15 years, Competition Board has imposed a total of TL 865.558.825 in fines as a result of the investigations conducted in various sectors of particular interest for the Turkish economy. During the 15 year enforcement period, the Board imposed the highest fine in terms of total amount in the "automotive industry," and the second and third largest fines in the "telecommunications" and "cement/ready-mix concrete" sectors, respectively. 2011 has been the year when the highest amount of total fines were imposed, with TL 460 million.
On the other hand, in 50 investigations out of the 189 conducted, Competition Board concluded that no fines should be imposed since the Act no 4054 was not violated or since sufficient evidence could not be gathered.
10. To date, the leniency Regulation was applied to 4 investigation files. As a result of the investigations in question, four separate undertakings which applied for leniency were either granted total immunity from fines, or a discount was implemented over the fines imposed.
11. In the previous 15 years, 802 undertakings were fines as a result of the 189 investigation conducted, and since the end of 2008, 2 individuals found to have exerted a decisive influence on the violation were imposed fines.2
12. To date, the number of suits filed against the final investigation decisions of the Board is 986, of which 461 were annulled on procedural grounds and 7 on substantive grounds. Out of the the aforementioned 986 , the request for a stay of execution was accepted in 215, partly accepted and partly refused in 19 and completely refused in 522.
Respectfully submitted for the information of the public.
A complete list on the distribution of the Competition Board final decisions according to "years" and "sectors" is attached. Click here for the list.
1This number was calculated by taking the average of the period from the date of initiation of the investigation to the date of the final decision.
2Article 16 of the Act no 4054 was amended with the Act dated 23.1.2008 and numbered 5728 to allow imposing administrative fines on the managers or employers of the undertakings or associations of undertakings who are found to have had a decisive influence on the violation. Therefore fines imposed on individuals after 2008 are substantive.