THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC DOES NOT ACCEPT AMENDMENTS OF THE LAW ON COMPETITION ADOPTED BY THE PARLIAMENT

The President of the Republic returned for reconsideration the amendments to the Law on Competition adopted by the Parliament on 2 July. The aforementioned amendments provide that undertakings are relieved from the payment of the fine imposed by the Competition Council (Konkurencijos taryba, KT) for the infringement of the Law on Competition until the end of proceedings.

The President in her decree notes that the current legal regulation, provided that there are legitimate grounds, allows to postpone or suspend the payment of the fine imposed by the KT and, thus, ensures the implementation of resolutions adopted by the KT as well as takes into consideration the financial and business activity’s possibilities of undertakings. Meanwhile, the amendments adopted by the Parliament would allow undertakings to take advantage of the right to appeal against the decisions on the infringement of the Law on Competition adopted by the KT only because of the possibility to postpone the payment of the fine. Hence, during the proceedings undertakings could worsen their financial standing or even terminate their activity, and, thus, avoid the liability for the infringement of the Law on Competition.

The decree notes that in the majority of the EU Member States competition law does not stipulate self-suspension of the decision adopted by the national competition authority provided that the decision is appealed to the court.

The KT hopes that during the reconsideration the Parliament will take into account the opinion of the President expressed in the decree.

Communication Division