532 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the following is prohibited, that is to say any agreement between undertakings, any decision by an association of undertakings and any concerted practice between undertakings having the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition within Malta or any part of Malta and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of this sub-article, any agreement, decision or practice which: (a) directly or indirectly fixes the purchase or selling price; (b) or other trading conditions; or (c) limits or controls production, markets, technical development or investment; or (d) shares markets or sources of supply; or (e) imposes the application of dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other parties outside such agreement, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage; or (f ) makes the conclusion of contracts subject to the acceptance by the other parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of such contracts. (2) Agreements or decisions prohibited in accordance with sub-article (1) shall be ipso jure null and unenforceable. (3) The provisions of sub-article (1) shall not apply in the case of: (a) any agreement between undertakings; or (b) any decision by an association of undertakings; or (c) any concerted practice, which contributes towards the objective of improving production or distribution of goods or services or promoting technical or economic progress and which allows consumers a fair share of the resultant benefit and which does not: i. impose on undertakings concerned any restriction which is not indispensable to the attainment of the said objective; or ii. give the undertakings concerned the possibility of eliminating or significantly reducing competition in respect of a substantial part of the products to which the agreement, decision or concerted practice refers. (4) The undertaking or association of undertakings claiming the benefit of sub- -article (3) shall bear the burden of proving that the conditions of that sub-article are fulfilled. Article 9 of the Competition Act contemplates that: (1) Any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position within Malta or any part of Malta is prohibited.
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