226 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM of the Antitrust Law) and an Economic Concentrations Secretariat (which will be in charge of the investigation phase proceedings in connection with the approval of economic concentration transactions). The purpose of the reform is to give new authorities more independence from political authorities (after the amendment to Law No. 25156 in 2014, the Secretary of Commerce himself became its enforcing authority). The Executive Order sets forth that the Secretary of Commerce and the Antitrust Commission will continue exercising their current powers until the Authority is created. A significant increase in fines due to breach of antitrust laws – Law No. 25156 imposed fines up to 150 million pesos (ARS). This amount, quite significant in 1999, when such Lawwas passed, is now ridiculous as a punishment for practices that adversely affect the country’s general economic interest. Therefore, the Antitrust Law imposes, following the general principles laid down in comparative law, fines of up to 30% of the volume of business associated with the goods or services involved in the unlawful practices carried out, multiplied by the number of years during which the practice continued (this amount may not be greater than 30% of the consolidated volume of business at the national level) or up to twice the economic benefit obtained by the offender, whichever is higher. If the fine cannot be determined following either of these parameters, it may be fixed in up to 200 million variable units (UM, per its acronym in Spanish). The Antitrust Law establishes that the value of the UM is 20 ARS and authorises the Executive Branch to update said value on an annual basis, following the Consumer Price Index determined by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC in Spanish). The creation of a leniency program that allows any individual or company participating in a cartel (i.e. an agreement between competitors not to compete) to appear before the Authority, submit information on said cartel and receive immunity from, or a reduction of, the fines set forth in the Antitrust Law. In order to qualify for the leniency program, the person must: • be the first one among the parties involved in the cartel to apply for leniency and provide evidence; • put an end to the anti-competitive practice immediately; • cooperate with the Authority; • abstain from destroying evidence related to the anti-competitive practice; and • abstain from disclosing its intention to qualify for the benefit.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==