This year, on 5 December, we have celebrated the World Competition Day for the seventh time. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) reminds entrepreneurs about the obligation to notify concentration and sums up the year 2016.
The World Competition Day was organised for the seventh time on 5 December by a non-governmental organisation Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
According to the law, a transaction must be notified to the UOKiK if it involves enterprises whose total turnover in the preceding year exceeded EUR 1 billion globally or EUR 50 million in Poland. The concentration proceedings have two stages. The first one, which lasts up to 30 days, includes the examination of cases that raise no doubts as to the negative impact on competition. More complex proceedings, which e.g. require market research, go to the second stage. The time of waiting for a reply from an entrepreneur is not included in the time limit for proceedings.
– It was a very busy year, we issued 170 decisions regarding concentration. We had several prototype cases, which were important for our economy. A case particularly worth noting is the establishment of the company responsible for building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. When the Office presented its reservations, the entrepreneurs resigned from the transaction, says the UOKiK President Marek Niechciał.
The average duration of the proceedings was 35 days, with the shortest one lasting just 10 days. 165 proceedings were completed at the first stage, while in five cases decisions were issued after the proceedings had been extended. The decisions most often concerned the real estate sector, chemical sector, as well as retail and wholesale trade.
Apart from examining the cases concerning the Polish market, the UOKiK also issues opinions on proceedings conducted by the European Commission in terms of impact of concentration on the Polish market. In 2016, the Office received over 230 cases from the European Commission.
