An effective competition contributes to economic development and technical progress. The necessity to compete in the market forces enterprises to reduce costs, increase efficiency and develop new products. For consumers, it means lower prices, bigger choice of products and better quality of goods and services offered.

In order to protect competition, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection counteracts practices which undermine a fair rivalry among undertakings. The main instrument in this respect is carrying out antitrust proceedings against undertakings violating the prohibition of competition restricting practices. These include anti-competitive agreements and abuses of a dominant position. As a result of such proceeding, the President may issue a decision ordering the undertaking involved to cease the restrictive/illegal conduct and pay a fine of up to 10 % of its preceding year's revenue.

The antitrust proceedings are only initiated ex officio. However, it is also possible to submit a written notification concerning the suspicion of anti-competitive practice. Such notification is not binding for the President of the Office, which means that President of the Office is not obliged to initiate proceedings on its basis.

The Act of 16 February 2007 on competition and consumer protection contains a catalogue of anti-competitive practices. In particular, the following types of practices are forbidden:

1. Competition restricting agreements, in particular:

• direct or indirect price fixing,
• limiting or controlling production or sale and technical development or investments,
• sharing markets of sale or purchase,
• applying to equivalent transactions with third parties onerous or not homogenous agreement terms and conditions, thus creating for these parties diversified conditions of competition,
• making conclusion of an agreement subject to acceptance or fulfillment by the other party of another performance, having neither substantial nor customary relation with the subject of such agreement,
• limiting access to the market or eliminating from the market undertakings which are not parties to the agreement,
• collusion between tender participants or between the participants and the organizer of the tender, of the terms and conditions of the bids to be proposed, particularly as regards the scope of works or the price.

2. Abuse of a dominant market position, in particular:

• direct or indirect imposition of unfair prices, including predatory prices or prices glaringly low, delayed payment terms or other trading conditions,
• limiting production, sale or technological progress to the prejudice to contractors or consumers, 
• application to equivalent transactions with third parties onerous or not homogenous agreement terms and conditions, thus creating for these parties diversified conditions of competition,
• making conclusion of the agreement subject to acceptance or fulfillment by the other party of another performance having neither substantial nor customary relation with the subject of agreement,
• counteracting formation of conditions necessary for the emergence or development of competition, 
• application of burdensome contractual terms and conditions of contracts, yielding to this undertaking unjustifiable benefits,
• market sharing according to territorial, product, or entity-related criteria.

Attached files

Clarifications on issuing the commitment decision in cases of competition restricting practices and practices infringing collective consumer interests.