Act No. 293 / 2016 Coll.
Act amending Act No. 143 / 2001 Coll., on the Protection of Competition and on the Amendment of Certain Laws (Act on the Protection of Competition), as amended, and Act No. 135 / 2016 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Act on Public Procurement
Valid
Law
Effective from 19.10.2016
293
THE LAW
of 24 August 2016
amending Act No. 143 / 2001 Coll., on the Protection of Competition and amending certain laws (Law on the Protection of Competition), as amended, and Act No. 135 / 2016 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Law on Public Procurement
Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:
Amendment to the Competition Act
Act No. 143 / 2001 Coll., on the Protection of Competition and amending certain laws (Act on the Protection of Competition), as amended by Act No. 340 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 484 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 127 / 2005 Coll., Act No. 361 / 2005 Coll., Act No. 71 / 2007 Coll., Act No. 296 / 2007 Coll., Act No. 155 / 2009 Coll., Act No. 188 / 2011 Coll., Act No. 360 / 2012 Coll. and Act No. 135 / 2016 Coll., is amended as follows:
1. footnote 2 shall read:
"2) § 2976 of the Civil Code. '.
2. footnote 4 is replaced by the following:
"4) § 580 of the Civil Code. '.
3. Paragraph 12 (2) and (3) reads as follows:
"(2) Furthermore, it shall be regarded as a concentration of competitors under this law where one or more entrepreneurs or one or more persons who are not an entrepreneur but who control at least one competitor are able to directly or indirectly control another competitor or part thereof, in particular through the acquisition of participating securities, commercial or member interests or by a contract or other means enabling them to control such competitor or part thereof.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, a part of a competitor shall also mean a set of assets of a competitor who serves to carry out its activities and which can be clearly attributed to turnover achieved by selling goods on the relevant market, even if they do not form a separate branch of the plant. '
footnote 7 is deleted.
4. In Article 12 (4) of the Introductory Part of the provision, the words "or part thereof 'shall be inserted after the word" competitor'.
5. in Article 12 (4) (a), the word "undertaking" shall be replaced by the word "establishment" and the words "parts thereof" shall be replaced by the words "part of a controlled competitor."
6. In Paragraph 12 (5), "undertaking 'is replaced by" competitor'.
7. In Article 12 (6), the word "undertaking 'is replaced by" competitor' and the word "effect 'is replaced by the word" result'.
(8) footnote 8 is replaced by the following:
"8) § 189 of the Civil Code. '.
9. in Paragraph 13 (b), point 2 is deleted;
Points 3 and 4 shall become points 2 and 3.
10. in Paragraph 13 (b) (2), "3" is replaced by "2" and the words "or parts thereof" are inserted after the word "competitor."
11. in Article 13 (b) (3), the words "controlled undertaking" are replaced by the words "controlled competitor."
12. footnote 10 is deleted, including the footnote reference.
13. footnote 12 is deleted, including the footnote reference.
14. in Paragraph 15 (2):
"(2) The joint application for authorisation of a concentration shall be made by all competitors who, pursuant to Article 12 (1), (2) and (5), intend to merge with a merger, are to be able to directly or indirectly control another competitor or part of it or to establish a jointly controlled competitor. '
15. in Article 15 (3) (b), the comma shall be replaced by "a" and the words "and the particulars laid down in the implementing act" shall be replaced by "; details shall be laid down in the implementing act."
16. in Article 16a (1) of the introductory part of the provision, the words "provided for in the implementing act" shall be replaced by the words "referred to in Article 15 (3) (b)."
17. in Paragraph 16a (1) (b), the words "joint venture" are replaced by the words "other competitor or parts thereof."
18. in Article 16a (3):
"(3) If the Office is not subject to a concentration of authorisation, it shall, within 20 days of the initiation of the procedure, give a decision on the matter. In cases where the concentration is subject to an authorisation by the Authority but does not result in significant distortions of competition, the Authority shall, within the same period, issue a decision authorising the concentration; the reasons for the decision include the names of the merging competitors, the relevant market or, where applicable, the sector in which the merging competitors operate and the reasons for which the decision was given in the simplified procedure. If the Office finds that the concentration could raise serious concerns about significant distortions of competition, it shall, within 20 days, invite the parties to submit a full application for authorisation of the concentration; the time limit for the decision pursuant to Article 16 (2) shall begin to run from the date of receipt of the complete application for authorisation of the concentration of the Office. ';
19. in Article 16a (4), the words "that a concentration is not subject to its authorisation or decision" shall be inserted after the words "authorisation of a concentration"; the words "or shall not invite the parties to submit a full application for authorisation of a concentration" shall be inserted after the words "authorisation of a concentration";
20. In Paragraph 16a, the following paragraph 5 is inserted after paragraph 4:
"(5) The Office may invite a party in writing to provide further information necessary for the decision to authorise a concentration or to provide further evidence of such facts. The period from the date of receipt of such an invitation to the party to the proceedings to the date on which that obligation is fulfilled shall not be counted against the time limit referred to in paragraph 3. ';
Paragraph 5 shall become paragraph 6.
21. in Paragraph 18 (5), the words "shares, transfer of the merged undertaking" shall be replaced by the words "competitors," and after the words "or part thereof," shall be inserted the words "over which they have acquired control;"
22. in Paragraph 19a (1):
"(1) In the exercise of public authority, the public authority may not, without justifiable reasons, distort competition in particular by:
(a) favour a particular competitor or group of competitors;
(b) exclude a particular competitor or group of competitors from competition; or
(c) exclude competition on the relevant market. "
23. In Article 19a, the following paragraph 2 is inserted after paragraph 1, including footnote 22:
"(2) The Office shall not supervise the activities of public authorities referred to in paragraph 1 which:
(a) carried out in the form of decisions or other acts under the administrative or tax rules; or
(b) the granting of public aid, including small scale aid (22).
22) Act No. 215 / 2004 Coll., on the modification of certain public aid relations and amending the Act on the promotion of research and development, as amended. '
Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall become paragraphs 3 and 4.
24. in Paragraph 19a (4), "paragraph 2" is replaced by "paragraph 3."
25. in Article 20 (3), "(a)" is replaced by "(a) or (b)";
26. In the first sentence of Article 20 (4), the word "or 'is replaced by a comma and the words" or Paragraph 19a (1)' are inserted after the words "Paragraph 18 (1) '.
27. In the second sentence of Article 20 (4), "a 'is replaced by" a' and the words "or Article 22aa (1) (b) 'are added at the end of the sentence.
28. In Article 20, the following paragraph 5 is added:
"(5) The Office may, on the basis of an international agreement which is part of the legal order, provide the applicant State's competitive authority with supporting documents and information at its request, including information which contains commercial, banking or similar legally protected secrets, in order to enforce competition law in the requesting State, provided that the level of protection of such information is comparable to that of the Czech Republic in the requesting State."
29. in Article 21a (1), "5" is replaced by "15."
30. In Article 21c, at the end of the text of paragraph 2, the words "if it does not do so, the documents submitted to it shall be deemed not to contain commercial, banking or other similar legally protected secrets'.
31. in Article 21c, the following paragraph 3 is inserted after paragraph 2:
"(3) In infringement proceedings or prohibition pursuant to Articles 3 (1), 11 (1), 18 (1) or 19 (a) (1), the party to the proceedings or his representative may, after disclosure of the reservations, consult those parts of the file which contain commercial, banking or similar protected secrets and which have been or will be the subject of proof, provided that they are aware in advance of the consequences of an infringement of the obligation of confidentiality of those facts and that the information is drawn up in a report which they sign. Paragraph 38 (4) of the Administrative Regulation shall not apply. ';
Paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be renumbered paragraphs 4 and 5.
32. In § 21c, the sentence "This shall also apply to the Office's calls and communications sent by the Office to applicants in connection with their application."
33. In Article 21c (5), the words "this shall also apply to calls and communications sent by the Office to applicants in connection with their application;"
34. § 21e reads:
(1) Any person who provides the Office with supporting documents and information, including trade books, other trade records or other records, which may be relevant for the purpose of clarifying the subject-matter of the proceedings (hereinafter referred to as "trade records") is obliged to provide them in full, correct and true.
(2) Everyone is required to provide the Office with commercial records at his / her written notice and within the prescribed time limit. In the call, the Office shall specify the provisions of the law on which the call is based, the business records it requires, the period within which it is to be provided and the purpose for which it is requested, and state that it may impose an order-by-order fine in accordance with Paragraph 22c for failure to fulfil its obligations under the previous sentence. '
35. in Article 21f, paragraphs 7 and 8 are added:
"(7) An action may be brought against investigations at the premises of competitors.
(8) Paragraphs 1 to 7 shall apply mutatis mutandis to investigations at the premises of public authorities. ';
36. footnote 15 is deleted, including the footnote references.
37. in Article 21g, the words "and paragraph 8" shall be added at the end of the text of paragraph 2.
38. in Article 21h (1), "6" is replaced by "5."
39. The following Section 21i is inserted after Section 21h, which includes the title:
Use of data from public administration information systems
(1) The Office shall use the following information in the exercise of its powers under this Act from the basic population register:
(a) surname;
(b) the name and, where appropriate, the names,
(c) the address of the place of stay,
(d) the date, place and district of birth of the data subject who was born abroad, the date, place and state where he was born;
(e) the date, place and district of death, if the death of the data subject is outside the territory of the Czech Republic, the date of death, the place and the State in whose territory the death occurred; if the court's decision on the declaration of death is given, the date on which the decision is referred to as the day of death or the day on which it was declared dead, and the date on which the decision was acquired;
(f) citizenship and, where appropriate, multiple citizenship.
(2) The Office shall, in the exercise of its powers under this Act, use the following data from the population information system:
(a) the name and / or the names, surnames and surnames,
(b) date, place and district of birth;
(c) birth number,
(d) the address of the place of permanent residence;
(e) citizenship and, where appropriate, multiple citizenship.
(3) The Office shall, in the exercise of its powers under this Act, use the following information from the alien information system:
(a) the name and / or the names, surnames and surnames,
(b) the date, place and state of birth;
(c) citizenship or nationality, where appropriate;
(d) the type and address of the place of stay;
(e) the beginning of the stay or, where appropriate, the date of termination of the stay.
(4) From the data referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3, only such data as are necessary to fulfil the task may be used in a particular case.
(5) Data which are kept as reference data in the population base register shall be used from the population information system or from the alien information system only if they are in the form preceding the current situation. "
40. in Paragraph 22 (1), the word "or" shall be deleted at the end of point (e).
41. In Paragraph 22, at the end of paragraph 1, the dot is replaced by a comma and the following points (g) to (i) are added:
"(g) shall not provide the Office with complete, correct or true commercial records pursuant to Paragraph 21e (1);
(h) does not provide the Office with the necessary cooperation in the on-the-spot investigation at or in premises other than commercial premises referred to in Article 21f (3); or
(i) infringes the obligation to carry out on-the-spot investigations in commercial or non-commercial premises pursuant to Article 21f (4). "
42. In Paragraph 22 (2), the words "(g), (h) or (i)" shall be inserted after the words "paragraph 1 (a)."
43.In Article 22a (1), the word 'or' shall be deleted at the end of point (e).
44. in Article 22a, at the end of paragraph 1, the dot is replaced by a comma and the following points (g) to (i) are added:
"(g) shall not provide the Office with complete, correct or true commercial records pursuant to Paragraph 21e (1);
(h) does not provide the Office with the necessary cooperation in the on-the-spot investigation at or in premises other than commercial premises referred to in Article 21f (3); or
(i) infringes the obligation to carry out on-the-spot investigations in commercial or non-commercial premises pursuant to Article 21f (4). "
45. in Article 22a (2), the words "(g), (h) or (i)" shall be inserted after the words "paragraph 1 (a)."
46. in Article 22a (4) to (6):
"(4) For the administrative offence referred to in paragraph 1 (b) committed in connection with the award of public contracts, the Office, together with the fine referred to in paragraph 2, may impose a prohibition on the performance of public contracts for a maximum period of three years, unless otherwise specified.
(5) The prohibition on the performance of public contracts shall mean the prohibition on participation in procurement procedures, the prohibition on the application for participation in a dynamic purchasing system and the prohibition on the conclusion of contracts for the performance of small-scale contracts. The period for which the prohibition on the performance of public contracts is imposed shall begin on the date on which the decision imposing the prohibition on the performance of public contracts became final.
(6) The Office shall keep a public register of persons with a prohibition on the performance of public contracts, in which the identification details of the legal or commercial natural person who has been subject to a prohibition on the performance of public contracts are entered, the date from which the execution of that prohibition begins and the date on which it ends, the identification of the decision imposing a prohibition on the performance of public contracts. The register shall be published in such a way as to allow remote access. ';
47. in Article 22aa (1), the words "distort competition contrary to Article 19a (1)" shall be deleted and the following points (a) to (f) shall be added at the end of the text of the paragraph:
"(a) breach the seal placed in the course of the investigation pursuant to Article 21f (2) (e);
(b) in contravention of Paragraph 19a (1), distorts competition,
(c) fails to comply with the corrective measures imposed by a decision of the Office pursuant to Article 20 (4) or any other obligation imposed by a decision of the Office;
(d) does not provide the Office with complete, correct or true commercial records pursuant to Paragraph 21e (1);
(e) does not provide the Office with the necessary cooperation in the on-the-spot investigation pursuant to Article 21f (3); or
(f) infringes the obligation to carry out on-the-spot investigations pursuant to Article 21f (4). "
48. in Paragraph 22aa (2):
"(2) A fine of up to 300 000 CZK shall be imposed for the administrative offence referred to in paragraph 1 (a), (d), (e) or (f) and an administrative offence referred to in paragraph 1 (b) or (c) for the fine up to 10 000 000 CZK."
(49) footnote 16:
"16) § 420 and 421 of the Civil Code. '.
50. in the first sentence of Paragraph 22b (2), the words "and when depositing and determining the length of the prohibition on performance of public contracts" shall be inserted after the words "administration."
51. in Article 22ba (3), the words "or prohibition on the performance of a concession contract" shall be deleted;
52. In Paragraph 22ba, paragraph 8 is added:
"(8) Where the Office recognises a public authority guilty of an administrative offence pursuant to Article 22aa (1) (b), it shall reduce the amount of the fine which it has informed the parties in the notice of reservations by 20% if the public authority has admitted to commit an administrative offence and if the Office considers that the nature and gravity of the administrative offence is sufficient. Paragraphs 4, 6 and 7 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the procedure of a public authority when applying for a reduction of the fine. ';
53.Paragraph 22c (1) reads as follows:
"(1) An order fine of up to CZK 100 000 or 1% of the net turnover achieved by the competitor for the last completed financial year may be imposed for failure to fulfil the obligation under Paragraph 21e (2)."
54. in Paragraph 22c (2), "10 000 000" is replaced by "1 000 000."
55. in Article 25a, the words "the provision on who can be fined and up to which 18a can be imposed" shall be deleted, including footnote 18a.
56.
"21) Act No. 255 / 2012 Coll., on Control (Control Regulations) '.
57. In Section 26, the words "the content and form of the proposal for authorisation of a concentration 'are replaced by the words" details of the reasons and documents certifying the facts relevant to the concentration' and the words "point (b) 'are inserted after the words" pursuant to Section 15 (3)'.
Transitional provision
Proceedings which were not definitively terminated before the date of entry into force of this Act shall be completed in accordance with the existing legislation.
Amendment to the Act amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Public Procurement Act
Part Four of Act No. 135 / 2016 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Public Procurement Act, is hereby repealed.
Efficacy
This Act shall take effect on the 30th day following its publication, with the exception of the provisions of Sections 22a (4) to (6), 22b (2) and 22ba (3), which shall take effect on the date of the entry into force of Act No. 134 / 2016 Coll., on the award of public contracts.
Hamlet v. r.
Zeman v. r.
Sobotka v. r.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Act No. 293 / 2016 Coll., amending Act No. 143 / 2001 Coll., on the Protection of Competition and on the Amendment of Certain Acts (Law on the Protection of Competition), as amended, and Act No. 135 / 2016 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Law on Public Procurement |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | Law |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 19.09.2016 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 19.10.2016 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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