Competition law consulting – Representation before the Competition Council in Romania

As your business expands and increases its market impact, so does the responsibility to operate in compliance with competition regulations. Scaling a business involves not only growth opportunities but also legal risks, as the competitive environment is closely monitored by the Competition Council.

The Competition Council operates on two main fronts: prevention and corrective intervention. Through preventive measures, the authority monitors markets and analyzes participants’ behavior to prevent deviations that could disrupt economic balance. When violations of competition rules are discovered, corrective measures are taken to address practices that could distort competition.

Anti-competitive practices include agreements between companies, decisions of business associations, and concerted practices that aim to or result in preventing, restricting, or distorting competition in the Romanian market or a part thereof, specifically those that:

• directly or indirectly set purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions;
• limit or control production, commercialization, technical development, or investments;
• divide markets or sources of supply;
• apply unequal conditions to equivalent transactions with business partners, thereby creating a competitive disadvantage;
• condition contract conclusion on the acceptance of additional obligations that, by their nature or according to commercial practices, are unrelated to the contract’s subject.

As an economic operator, you may become the subject of an investigation conducted by the Competition Council either ex officio or following a complaint filed by an individual or legal entity who considers themselves affected by your business conduct.

Why is the expertise of competition law specialists important during an investigation by the Competition Council in Romania?

Based on the findings from the Competition Council’s investigation, authorities may impose measures such as ceasing the identified anti-competitive practices, interim measures, and fines. Additionally, the Competition Council has the authority to issue recommendations and impose conditions or obligations on the parties, which could naturally impact the normal course of your business growth.

How can you avoid such measures? The law allows companies to submit commitment proposals during the investigation stage to eliminate the situation that led to the investigation.

In this regard, the team of lawyers at Blaj Law in Romania, after analyzing your company’s specific situation concerning the investigation’s subject, assists you in drafting these proposals to increase the chances that the commitments favorable to your company are endorsed as binding by the Competition Council.

This represents one of the ways you can adopt a preventive approach. Even if you are already under investigation by the Competition Council, the expertise of competition law specialists can help you avoid sanctions through negotiations with authorities.

Regarding penalties, the fine imposed by the Competition Council can reach up to 10% of the economic operator’s turnover. However, if your company has already been sanctioned by the Competition Council, this does not necessarily mean an irreversible situation. Our specialized department helps you file an appeal, assessing the real chances of judicially overturning the imposed sanctions in litigation against the Competition Council. If the Competition Council unjustifiably imposes a fine, its decision can be challenged within 30 days from its communication before the Bucharest Court of Appeal, Administrative Litigation Section (Administrative Litigation).

Violations of competition laws can even lead to criminal liability. That is why the Blaj Law team is equipped with the necessary expertise to assist and represent you throughout the criminal investigation and in every stage of the criminal process.

Specialized assistance is not only relevant if you are the subject of an investigation but also if you have filed a complaint against another economic operator. In such cases, our team offers assistance and representation in challenging the rejection of complaints to ensure you are protected against competitors influencing market conditions to your disadvantage.

Services offered by Blaj Law

Beyond what has already been outlined, Blaj Law provides a wide range of competition law services tailored to the specific needs of each business:

• Business model analysis – We evaluate your business policies and strategies to ensure compliance with competition rules, identifying potential risks and proposing solutions.
• Agreements between competitors – We provide legal advice for drafting and reviewing commercial agreements between companies, ensuring they comply with competition regulations and do not create a risk of being investigated by the Competition Council.
• Competition Council investigations – We represent clients in regulatory authority procedures, providing legal support at all stages of the investigation.
• Consultancy, assistance, and representation concerning cartels – We assist companies involved in investigations regarding potential anti-competitive agreements.
• Competition litigation – We provide legal assistance and representation in competition-related disputes, including cases involving abuse of dominant position and restrictive practices.