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Silence does not Mean Consenting to a Concerted Practice: TCA's V-Turizm Decision Reversed on Meritorious Grounds

Competition Law | Articles

Silence does not Mean Consenting to a Concerted Practice: TCA's V-Turizm Decision Reversed on Meritorious Grounds

Taking Turkey's 20-year history of the competition law practice into account, 2018 made history with the developments in administrative judicial review of the Turkish Competition Authority's ("TCA") decisions. Since 1998, no decision by the TCA whereby administrative fines were imposed based on Articles 4 (prohibiting anti-competitive agreements) and 6 (prohibiting abuse of dominance) of the Competition Law had been reversed by the Administrative Courts on meritorious grounds.

Resale Price Maintenance – Following The Effect

Competition Law | Articles

Resale Price Maintenance – Following The Effect

By publishing its reasoned decision1 on the preliminary inquiry against Duru Bulgur Gıda San. ve Tic. A.Ş. ("DURU"), the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") has added a new one to its decisions which include effect analysis of resale price maintenance ("RPM") practices. Although, Article 4(1)(a) of Block Exemption Communiqué No. 2002/2 on Vertical Agreements provides that RPM practices would not benefit from block exemption and the TCA used to evaluate RPM as a per se violation, in its recent decisions, the TCA subjects RPM practices to a rule of reason analysis and assesses the effects of such practices. In these decisions2, the TCA has analysed the effects of RPM by considering several factors such as market structure, competition level and effect on consumers.

TCA's Second Clearance for the Same Transaction in Fresh Bread Yeast Sector

Competition Law | Articles

TCA's Second Clearance for the Same Transaction in Fresh Bread Yeast Sector

In 2014 the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") had granted a conditional clearance to acquisition of Dosu Maya by Özmaya which reduced the number of players in the yeast market and this decision was annulled by the decision of Ankara 8th Administrative Court. In order to comply with the court decision, the TCA initiated a new examination and this has recently been concluded by TCA. Although the reasoned decision has not been published yet, it is possible to make some inferences by throwing a glance at the result of the TCA's short decision.

White Appliances Sector is Under Turkish Competition Authority's Spotlight

Competition Law | Articles

White Appliances Sector is Under Turkish Competition Authority's Spotlight

Upon the application made by an anonymous party to the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") on October 21, 2017, the TCA has initiated a preliminary investigation in order to determine whether Article 4 of the Law on the Protection of the Competition ("Competition Law") is violated by Arçelik Pazarlama A.Ş. ("ARÇELİK"), Vestel Ticaret A.Ş. ("VESTEL") and BSH Ev Aletleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.

The Turkish Competition Authority Finds No Competition Law Violation in Media Barometer

Competition Law | Articles

The Turkish Competition Authority Finds No Competition Law Violation in Media Barometer

The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) has concluded its investigation against Diye Danışmanlık Eğitim ve Medya Hizmetleri Tic A.Ş.’s (“yurddaş + partners”) Media Barometer services. It is decided that Media Barometer, which is a media performance measurement service that includes a price comparison system for advertisers, does not violate the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”)

The Court Annuls the Decision of the TCA

Competition Law | Articles

The Court Annuls the Decision of the TCA

The Tenth Administrative Court of Ankara annuls the decision of the Turkish Competition Authority in a case regarding concerted practices between cement producers on the ground that the required standard of proof was not met. (GOLTAS Cement)

The Standard of Proof in Concerted Practices Redefined

Competition Law | Articles

The Standard of Proof in Concerted Practices Redefined

The Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") had found that six cement producers operating in the Aegean Region of Turkey entered into a concerted practice to allocate certain geographical regions amongst themselves and to collectively raise the prices of cement products during the time period starting from January-March 2013 and ending in October-December 2014

Leniency Concluded with TCA’s Opinion Instead a Full-Fledged Investigation-Ready Mix Concrete Industry

Competition Law | Articles

Leniency Concluded with TCA’s Opinion Instead a Full-Fledged Investigation-Ready Mix Concrete Industry

Parallel to the European Union Regulation No 17: First Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty, Article 9 (3) of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”) regulates “termination of infringements” as “the Board, prior to taking a decision (…) shall inform in writing the undertaking or associations of undertakings concerned of its opinions concerning how to terminate the infringement”.

Turkish Safeguard Legislation from the Perspective of the Latest PET Case

International Trade | Articles

Turkish Safeguard Legislation from the Perspective of the Latest PET Case

On 16 January 2018, the Turkish Ministry of Economy ("Ministry") published a new regulation which contains the rules and procedures regarding the application, allocation and usage of the tariff quotas to be issued with regards to the imports of polyethylene terephthalate (having a viscosity number of equal to or more than 78 ml/g) listed under 3907.61.00.00.00 CN Code ("PET").

Turkish Competition Authority – Initiating More Investigations – Now What?

Competition Law | Articles

Turkish Competition Authority – Initiating More Investigations – Now What?

There are several ways triggering the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") to open an inquiry. The procedure may begin as a result of the TCA receiving a complaint, a leniency application or otherwise being notified of an alleged violation, or the TCA acting on its own initiative to open an inquiry. The TCA can do this in two ways - it can technically either open a preliminary investigation or a full-fledge investigation (while the former usually takes one to two months, the latter takes six months to one year).

Highlights on the Turkish Competition Authority's Recent Investigations

Competition Law | Articles

Highlights on the Turkish Competition Authority's Recent Investigations

The Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") has been very active in the last three months. The TCA concluded ongoing investigations against companies active in iron- steel, alcoholic beverages and banking industries as well the pending merger review into the ro-ro transportation. In the meantime, the TCA launched investigations against; (i) Sahibinden.com into its alleged abuse of dominance, (ii) Sony Turkey into its alleged resale price maintenance practices, (iii) the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies into its alleged tying and discriminatory practices, and (iv) Radontek Medical into its alleged abusive practices.

Is "Lesser Duty Rule" a Tightrope Walker's Pole in International Trade Remedies Law of Turkey?

International Trade | Articles

Is "Lesser Duty Rule" a Tightrope Walker's Pole in International Trade Remedies Law of Turkey?

The recent developments in the case law have led the trade remedy law practitioners to bring the Turkish Ministry of Economy's ("Ministry") approach towards the implementation of the "lesser duty rule" to their agenda. There are deep concerns and raising voices of the interested stakeholders from both sides (domestic industry and foreign traders) as to the benefits and drawbacks of its application.

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