OECD kpcdb

1. Scope

 

Section 4 of the Act prohibits undertakings from entering into any agreement in respect of the production, supply, distribution, acquisition or control of goods or the provision of services, which have the object or effect of preventing, restricting or reducing competition within the relevant market. Such agreements include but are not limited to: price fixing; market allocation; output restrictions; limiting technical development or investment; collusive tendering/bid-rigging; and applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other parties.

2. Assessment

According to the Draft Guidelines 2016 on Section 4 Prohibited Agreements, in delineating the market, the CCP resorts to two dimensions: the relevant product market and the relevant geographic market.

The CCP considers both direct and indirect evidence that is relevant to the case being investigated.

 

Exemptions: According to Section 5, the CCP may grant an exemption from Section 4 with respect to a particular agreement, upon request by the parties to the agreement.

 

According to Section 9, the CCP may grant exemption if the agreement substantially contributes to improving production or distribution and promoting technical or economic progress, or if the benefits deriving from the agreement clearly outweigh the adverse effect of restriction on competition.

 

Under Section 7, the CCP may also grant a block exemption to a particular category of agreements if it considers that they meet the exemption criteria above. A block exemption order imposes conditions or obligations subject to which a block exemption is to have effect, and specifies a period that the order is to cease to have effect.

3. Remedies and sanctions

Under Section 31, the CCP may annul prohibited agreements specified in Section 4, or require the undertaking concerned to amend the agreement and not to repeat the prohibitions. The CCP may also impose administrative penalties (see Section I.4 of this text on Remedies and sanctions).

4. Leniency

Under Section 39, the CCP may grant a full or partial exemption of penalty only to an undertaking that is the first to come forth and make full and true disclosure of the alleged infringement.

 

 

* This information is based on Competition Law in Asia-Pacific: A Guide to Selected Jurisdictions (2018).