KONKURENCIJOS TARYBA PUBLISHES EXPLANATORY NOTE ON INSPECTIONS PERFORMED AT BUSINESS PREMISES

The Lithuanian competition authority Konkurencijos taryba has prepared an explanatory note for companies and their lawyers to give more clarity on the procedures of the inspections carried out at business premises by the authority‘s authorised officials.

The document provides summarized information on the process of a dawn raid, as well as the rights and obligations of the inspected undertakings and other persons.

Competition dawn raids are carried out for the purpose of collecting publicly unavailable information which is used for the assessment of the legality of conduct of suspected undertakings. Evidence gathered during the dawn raid has significant importance since it is often the main or the only source of evidence proving an infringement of the Law on Competition. The aforementioned explanatory note is intended to give persons participating in the inspections more clarity on the procedures and other investigative actions performed by the authority‘s officials.

The document describes initial steps taken by the authority‘s officials, for instance, presenting to the company the search warrant authorising the inspection, as well as further actions during the inspection, including requests for oral explanations, other procedures which should be complied with when seizing information relevant for the investigation or processing special category data, for instance, information constituting legal professional privilege or personal information.

The document also provides information about the protocols (statements) drawn up during the inspection and the company‘s right to get acquainted with them, liability for company and its employees for obstructing a dawn raid and their rights to appeal against the actions of the authority‘s officials.