THE COMPETITION COUNCIL REDUCES MERGER REVIEW FEES

The Competition Council has changed the amounts of fees for the examination of notifications of concentration and applications for authorisation to carry out individual concentration actions, considering the costs incurred by the Authority.

As of 1 March this year, undertakings will have to pay a fee of EUR 19 300 for the examination of a notification of concentration and EUR 6 400 for the examination of an application for authorisation to carry out individual concentration actions. The new fee amounts, which were established by the Competition Council in accordance with the provisions of the Competition Law and after assessing the costs incurred during the examination of the notifications of concentration received in 2024, will be valid until 28 February 2026.

The fees of EUR 21 100 and EUR 7 000, respectively, approved a year ago, will remain in force until 28 February 2025.

The Competition Council calculates the fees by 1 March each year at the latest, based on the previous year's costs.

The fees must be paid by the undertakings to the Competition Council's account before the submission of the notification of the concentration and the application for authorisation of individual concentration actions. The fees are used to cover the costs incurred by the Competition Council in the course of the examination of notifications of concentration, taking into account also the need for specialists with different competences in the examination of complex concentrations, which require a detailed legal and economic analysis.

During 2024, the Competition Council examined a total of 37 notifications of proposed business transactions, one of which was not cleared due to the risk of reduction of competition. In the case of 3 highly complex and large acquisitions, a comprehensive legal and economic analysis was carried out to assess their impact on competition. 90% of the cases examined were concentrations where this detailed analysis was not required. These were assessed by the Authority's experts and cleared by the Competition Council within 20 working days on average. 

The obligation for businesses under the Law on Competition to notify the intended transaction and to obtain clearance from the Authority is not a mere formality - it allows an assessment of the potential effects of the concentration before changes in the market structure take place and ensures that the transactions in question do not have a significant adverse effect on competition and do not have negative consequences for consumers.