Part of the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Competition is coming into force today - the Georgian Competition Agency announced.
The agency stated that the amendments bring the Law of Georgia on Competition closer to the DCFTA standards.
What are the main changes under the new amendments?
• There will be a unified legal framework - regulators remain obliged to enforce competition in their own sectors, although they will be governed by the Law of Georgia on Competition (with the exception of the communications sector until January 1, 2026);
• Regulators will look into whether an action-maker (or concentration participant) of both entities is operating in a regulated area. In all other cases, the competent authority will be the Competition Agency. Inter-agency cooperation is mandatory;
• A two-phase system for controlling concentrations introduced in the EU is proposed - the so-called simple and complex. The agency evaluates within 25 working days whether the concentration is compatible with a normal competitive environment and a positive conclusion is made. If the issue needs further investigation or there is a suspicion that the concentration may not be compatible, the second phase begins, lasting 90 working days;
• Those who implement the concentration without having the reviews of the Competition Agency or its negative decision will be fined. The fine should not exceed 5% of the economic agent's annual turnover in the previous financial year. Besides, the concentration review fee is set at 5,000 GEL;
• Sanctions for not giving access to information are tightened: The provision of information in the monitoring process has become mandatory and in case of its violation an individual will be fined 1000 GEL, while a legal entity will be fined 3 000 GEL;
• A surprise check is allowed to detect agreed actions and the court will not inform the economic agent in advance. The change also affects the inquiry process and its term is set at 18 months instead of the current 10 months.
