Application for Commitment to the Competition Authority

Application for Commitment to the Competition Authority – Lawyer in Izmir

The Communiqué No. 2021/2 on Commitments to be Submitted in Preliminary Investigations and Investigations into Anti-Competitive Agreements, Concerted Actions and Decisions, and Abuse of Dominant Position, dated March 16, 2021, entered into force. Within the scope of this communiqué, the implementation of the commitment process, a new institution within Competition Law, has begun.

According to the aforementioned circular, parties who wish to have an ongoing investigation against them terminated by means of a commitment can request to submit such a commitment during the preliminary investigation or inquiry process.

The commitments submitted are evaluated by the Competition Board, and those commitments deemed capable of resolving competition issues are made binding on the relevant undertakings, leading to a decision not to open an investigation or to terminate an ongoing investigation. In this context, the aim is to prevent the escalation of potential violations and to save time and resources for the public and those under investigation, which would otherwise be incurred by detailed investigative processes necessary for detection.  

How does the commitment process proceed?

How long do I have to apply?

Requests to submit commitments during the investigation process begin from the date of notification of the investigation notice. within three months It is necessary to submit this to the Competition Authority. Requests to submit commitments submitted to the Competition Authority after this period will not be considered.

What should a commitment letter include?

The commitment statement must clearly state the commitment being made and should not include alternative commitments.

The commitment document must clearly state the competition issue that the commitment aims to resolve, the nature of the commitment, when it will commence, the duration and method of its implementation, the timeframes to be observed during its implementation, the circumstances under which these timeframes may be extended, the impact of the commitment on the market, how it will resolve the competition issue, how compliance with the commitment will be monitored, and other matters deemed necessary. If a structural commitment is submitted, details regarding the execution of the divestment process should be included in the commitment document.

Where the implementation of the commitment requires reaching an agreement with third parties, documents demonstrating that an agreement with third parties can be reached must also be submitted to the Competition Authority along with the commitment text.

The commitment document concludes with a statement from the parties declaring that their commitment can resolve competition issues and that they agree to fulfill the commitment under the terms specified in the document.

The undertaking document is signed by persons authorized to represent the party making the undertaking.

Commitment Negotiations

Discussions can be conducted orally or in writing. Oral discussions are recorded in a protocol agreed upon by the participants.

After the parties submit their requests for commitments to the Competition Authority, the Competition Board evaluates the relevant agreement, decision, or practice to determine if it constitutes a clear and serious violation, as well as other matters it deems necessary, and decides whether to initiate commitment negotiations or reject the request for commitments and terminate the commitment process.

If, at the stage where the parties request to submit commitments, the competition issues under investigation are not sufficiently clarified and a more detailed investigation is needed, the Board may postpone its decision under the first paragraph. If this situation arises during the preliminary investigation, the decision may be left to the investigation process.

During commitment negotiations, the competition issues under investigation are explained to the parties making the commitment, and the information and documents forming the basis for identifying the issues are provided to the parties. If the parties have been notified of the investigation, the information and documents forming the basis for identifying the issues may not be provided to the parties separately.

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