New law to protect competition among companies in Spain

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. Agreements between companies that prevent, restrict or distort competition are banned, such as fixing prices, sharing out markets or limiting production. These agreements are automatically void if they do not have an exemption.
2. A dominant company is banned from abusing its position, for example by imposing unfair prices or unjustifiably refusing to sell or provide services.
3. The National Competition Commission (Comisión Nacional de la Competencia) is created as a single body independent from the Government, replacing the Competition Service and the Competition Tribunal, which are dissolved.
4. Company mergers and acquisitions above certain thresholds, such as a 30% market share or 240 million euros in turnover, must be notified before they are carried out and cannot go ahead without authorization.
5. Companies that took part in a cartel and report it with evidence can be exempted from paying the fine, or see it reduced if they cooperate without qualifying for full exemption.
6. Fines are graded by severity: up to 1% of turnover for minor offenses, up to 5% for serious ones and up to 10% for very serious ones. All sanctions will be made public.
7. Commercial Courts handle civil matters on banned practices, and competition authorities can intervene in lawsuits by providing information even if they are not a party.
8. The law enters into force on September 1, 2007, although the rules on exemption and fine reductions for cooperation take effect together with their implementing regulations.

Who it affects

• Companies and business associations: They cannot agree on prices or share out markets, must notify their mergers, and can be inspected and fined.
• Consumers: They benefit from effective competition, which means lower prices and more variety and quality.
• Executives and company representatives: They can face individual fines of up to 60,000 euros if they take part in banned agreements.
• Autonomous Communities (Comunidades Autónomas): Their authorities apply the law in their territory and can issue reports on the public aid they grant.

Words worth knowing

Cártel (cartel)

A secret agreement between two or more competitors to fix prices, share out markets or restrict imports or exports.

Concentración económica (economic concentration)

A lasting change in the control of a company, for example a merger or one company buying another.

Posición de dominio (dominant position)

A situation where a company has so much power in a market that it can act with little regard for competition.

Conductas de menor importancia (practices of minor importance)

Practices that, due to their small market share, do not significantly affect competition and fall outside the bans.

Multas coercitivas (coercive fines)

Daily fines, of up to 12,000 euros, to force a company to comply with orders from the National Competition Commission.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries