- Chapter I
- CHAPTER II
- CHAPTER III
- CHAPTER IV
- CHAPTER V
- CHAPTER VI
- CHAPTER VII
- CHAPTER VIII
- CHAPTER IX
- CHAPTER X
Competition Act The objective of this Act is to promote effective competition and thereby increase the efficiency of the factors of production of society. This objective shall be achieved by: This Act shall apply to any economic operation, including the manufacturing industry and trade in goods and services, irrespective of whether such operation is conducted by individuals, companies, public entities or others.
This Act shall not apply to wages or other employment terms of wage earners pursuant to labour agreements.
This Act shall apply to agreements, terms and actions with effect, or intended effect, in Iceland.
Subject to the provisions of Chapter VII and the provisions governing trade within the common market of the European Economic Area, this Act shall not apply to agreements, terms or actions which are solely intended to have an effect outside Iceland.
The Competition Authority shall provide assistance in implementing the competition provisions of other states and international organizations in accordance with mutual obligations provided for in international conventions to which Iceland is a party.
CHAPTER II The following definitions shall apply in this Act: 10.Price shall mean the return provided for goods or services, i.e. any consideration irrespective of the term used, such as remuneration, wages, commission, freight, shipping charges, tariff, rent or the like.
11.Control according to this Act shall mean control which confers on a party the possibility of exerting a
decisive influence on the operation and management of an undertaking, either separately or in
combination with others, whether this influence stems from the fact that the party can: 12.Service shall mean any facilitation, work or service rendered for a consideration, excluding work rendered for wages in the service of another.
In the event of any dispute as to the scope of these terms, the dispute shall be settled by the Competition Authority.
The Minister for Commerce is responsible for the implementation of this Act, but surveillance pursuant to this Act and day to day administration of matters within the scope of the Act is entrusted by the Minister to a separate agency, the Competition Authority.
The Board of the Competition Authority is composed of three members appointed by the Minister for a term of four years at a time. Three alternates shall be appointed in the same manner. The Minister appoints the Chairman of the Board and decides the remuneration of the members of the Board.
The role of the Board of Directors is to establish priorities in the work of the Competition Authority and monitor its activities and operation. Major material decisions shall be submitted to the Board for approval or rejection. The Board of Directors shall establish its own rules of procedure, which shall include provisions on what constitutes major decisions. The rules shall be published in Section B of the Law and Ministerial Gazette.
Article 6
The Director of the Competition Authority shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of the Authority. The Director is in charge of the day-to-day activities and operation of the Authority. The Board of Directors shall decide the terms of employment of the Director and his/her terms of reference.
The Director shall appoint the employees of the Authority.
Article 7
Members of the Board shall possess expert knowledge of competition and business matters and an education which is relevant to this field.
The Director shall possess a university degree and extensive knowledge and experience in competition matters.
Members of the Board of Directors and the Director shall be legally competent to manage their own affairs and shall have no record of deprivation of control of their estate. They shall possess an unblemished reputation, and shall not have been convicted in a court of law for any sanctionable conduct with regard to economic operation pursuant to the Penal Code or statutory law on limited liability companies, private limited companies, annual accounts or competition.
Members of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director shall not participate in the conduct of any affair where they have a material interest or any affair relating to any parties which are financially or personally related to them.
Article 8
The functions of the Competition Authority are as follows: The Competition Authority shall establish its own rules of procedure.
The Competition Authority shall decide whether complaints submitted to the Authority give adequate grounds for investigation. In processing cases according to this Act the Competition Authority is authorised to prioritise cases.
Article 9
The decisions of the Competition Authority may be appealed to a separate committee, the Competition Appeals Committee. A written appeal must be received within four weeks from the time the party in question was informed of the decision. The decision of the Competition Appeals Committee shall be rendered within six weeks from the date of appeal.
The Competition Appeals Committee shall be composed of three members with three alternates, appointed by the Minister following nomination by the Supreme Court. The chairman and his alternate, who shall also serve as vice-chairman, shall meet the conditions for qualification as Supreme Court judges, but the other members shall possess professional expertise in the field of competition and business.
The term of the appointment of the Competition Appeals Committee shall be the same as that of the Board of Directors of the Competition Authority.
Article 10
Any agreement or resolution between undertakings, whether binding or guiding, and concerted practices which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition are prohibited.
This prohibition includes any agreements, resolutions and concerted practices which: Article 11
Any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position is prohibited.
Abuse according to Paragraph 1 may, inter alia, consist in: Article 12
It is prohibited for associations of undertakings to institute restrictions on competition or to advocate restrictions prohibited under this Act, or conflicting with decisions taken in accordance with Articles 16-18.
This prohibition extends also to the directors of such associations, their staff members, and to persons in positions of trust within such associations.
Article 13
Agreements between undertakings do not fall under the prohibition in Article 10 if the aggregate market share held by all of the participating undertakings does not exceed, on any of the relevant markets: In the case of a mixed horizontal and vertical agreement, or where it is difficult to classify the agreement as either horizontal or vertical, the 5% threshold applies.
Agreements according to Paragraph 1 do not fall under the prohibition of Article 10 even when the market share exceeds the thresholds according to Paragraph 1 if the share does not exceed 5.5% in horizontal agreements or 11% in vertical agreements for two successive fiscal years.
Participating undertakings according to Paragraph 1 are undertakings that are parties to the agreement, undertakings that the parties to the agreement control directly or indirectly or undertakings that control directly or indirectly parties to the agreement.
The provisions of this Article apply also to concerted practices according to Article 10 and decisions by associations of undertakings according to Article 12.
The provisions of this Article do not apply where in a relevant market competition is restricted by the cumulative effects of similar agreements in the market.
Article 14
In the case of public undertakings or undertakings operating to some extent under exclusive rights or protection granted by the State, the Competition Authority may order financial segregation on the one hand between part of the operation of the undertaking conducted under exclusive rights or protection and on the other hand the operation conducted in free competition with other parties. Measures shall be taken to ensure that the operation in competition is not subsidised by the operation conducted under exclusive rights or protection.
Article 15
The Competition Authority may grant exemptions from the provisions of Articles 10 and 12. The conditions for such exemptions are that agreements, resolutions, concerted practices or decisions pursuant to Articles 10 and 12 Conditions may be set for an exemption. The Competition Authority may require that applications for exemptions according to Paragraph 1 should be presented on a special form.
The Competition Authority may withdraw an exemption or change its conditions if: The Competition Authority shall establish rules concerning exemption from the provisions of Articles 10 and 12 to certain categories of agreements which satisfy the requirements of Paragraph 1. (group exemption).
Article 16
The Competition Authority may take measures against: Action taken by the Competition Authority may include any measures needed to bring an end to violations of the provisions of this Act or to respond to actions of public entities which may be detrimental to competition. The Competition Authority may take action both to change behaviour and structure in proportion to the infringement committed and as necessary to bring such infringement effectively to an end. However, structural remedies may only be imposed if it is shown that no effective behavioural remedy exists or if an equally effective behavioural remedy will be more burdensome for the party in question than a structural remedy.
The Competition Authority may also decide provisionally on individual matters if Interim decisions shall be effective for a specific period time and may be renewed if necessary.
Article 17
If the Competition Authority is of the opinion that a merger will obstruct effective competition by giving one or more undertakings a dominant position or by strengthening such a position, the Authority may annul a merger that has already taken place. The Competition Authority may also set conditions for such a merger that must be met within a given time. When assessing the lawfulness of a merger the Competition Authority shall take into account the extent to which the competitive position of the merged undertaking is affected by international competition. Also when assessing the lawfulness of a merger account shall be taken of whether the market is open or whether market access is obstructed.
The provision in Paragraph 1 applies only to mergers where the aggregate turnover of the undertakings in question is ISK 1 billion or more, including the turnover of parent undertakings and subsidiaries, undertakings within the same group of undertakings and undertakings directly or indirectly controlled by parties to the merger. Furthermore, at least two of the undertakings that are parties to the merger must have a minimum annual turnover of ISK 50 million each for Paragraph 1 to apply.
The Competition Authority must be notified of a merger falling within the scope of Paragraph 1 no later than one week after the conclusion of a merger agreement, or the announcement of a public bid, or the acquisition of a controlling interest in an undertaking. The deadline is counted from the time that the any of the above events occurs. The notification shall contain information concerning the merger and the undertakings involved. The Competition Authority shall lay down rules specifying in greater detail the information to be included in a notification, inter alia concerning markets affected by the merger and other items necessary for the investigation of its competitive impact.
The Competition Authority shall notify the undertakings in question within thirty days if it sees reason for further investigation of the competitive impact of the merger. The deadline is counted from the time that the Authority receives a notification meeting the conditions of Paragraph 3 and rules established pursuant to the provision. If no notification pursuant to Clause 1 is received from the Competition Authority within the established deadline the Competition Authority cannot annul the merger. A decision on annulment shall be taken no later than three months after notification pursuant to the first sentence above has been sent to the undertakings in question.
To ensure the full effect of any possible decision according to Paragraph 1 the Competition Authority can intervene temporarily in a merger. An intervention can consist in a temporary ban on the implementation of the merger until a final conclusion of the competition authorities’ investigation is available or other measures having the same effect.
In the event that the Competition Authority decides to annul a merger the Authority may, concurrently with a decision based on Paragraph 1 or by a separate decision, require a separation of the undertakings or assets brought together or the cessation of joint control or any other action that may be appropriate in order to restore conditions of effective competition.
Article 18
If the Competition Authority is of the opinion that any provisions of law or administrative provisions are contrary to the objectives of this Act and detrimental to free competition in trade, the Minister shall be informed of this opinion. Such an opinion shall also be notified to the public in an adequate manner, e.g. by a news release to the public media, after the Minister has been informed.
Article 19
The Competition Authority may request from individual undertakings or groups or associations of undertakings covered by this Act any information regarded as necessary for the investigation of individual cases. Information may be requested in oral or written form, and shall be provided within a reasonable time limit set by the Authority.
The Competition Authority may, under the same conditions as those laid down in Paragraph 1, require the surrender of documents for inspection. Such documents shall be delivered within a reasonable time limit established by the Authority.
In the course of its functions the Competition Authority may request information and documents from other administrative authorities, including the tax and customs authorities, irrespective of their duty to maintain confidentiality.
The Competition Authority may also impose on the parties referred to in Paragraph 1 the obligation of providing the Authority with regular information concerning matters relevant to the implementation of this Act. The Competition Authority may issue such orders by public announcement.
Article 20
The Competition Authority may, in the course of the investigation of a case, carry out the necessary inspections on the premises of an undertaking and associations of undertakings and seize documents and other evidence when there are compelling reasons to believe that this Act or the decisions of the competition authorities have been violated.
The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning search and seizure of articles shall apply to the procedure of such actions.
CHAPTER VII Article 21
The Competition Authority, the Competition Appeals Committee and Icelandic courts of law shall apply Articles 53 and 54 of the EEA Agreement, cf. Act No. 2/1993 on the European Economic Area, as provided by law, inter alia Articles 25-28 of this Act. The application by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court of the competition rules of the EEA shall conform, inter alia, to the provisions of this Chapter.
Any party so requested shall provide the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court with the information necessary for these institutions to implement the Agreement on the European Economic Area and the Agreement between the EFTA States on the establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice in matters concerning competition. The same applies to the carrying out of orders issued as authorised by Article 32.
The Competition Authority may also request the information referred to in Paragraph 2, and may establish time limits for its delivery.
Article 22
The EFTA Surveillance Authority may, following the procedures provided for in Protocol and Protocol 4 to the Agreement between the EFTA States on the establishment of a Surveillance Authority and Court of Justice relating to the functions and powers of the EFTA Surveillance Authority in the field of competition, perform on-the-spot investigations.
The agents of the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the agents of the European Commission responsible for matters concerning competition may, within the limits set by the Agreement on the European Economic Area and its ancillary agreements, attend and take part in on-the-spot investigations conducted by the Competition Authority. The same applies to the agents of the Competition Authority and the European Commission when the EFTA Surveillance Authority conducts on-the-spot investigations in Iceland.
Decisions of the EFTA Surveillance Authority or the Competition Authority to conduct on-the-spot investigations may be enforced by means of enforcement proceedings.
Article 23
The confidentiality obligations of Icelandic authorities prescribed by law shall not constitute a hindrance to their providing the EFTA Surveillance Authority or the agents of the European Commission with any information necessary for the implementation of the competition provisions of the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
Article 24
The EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court may impose fines to be paid by undertakings, associations of undertakings or individuals by reason of intentional or negligent infringements of Articles 53, 54 or 57 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area, of the provisions of Protocol 4 to the Agreement between the EFTA States on the establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice, or of rules issued in accordance with Article 32 of this Act.
Chapter I
Objectives and scope
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Definitions
Article 4
CHAPTER III
Administration
Article 5
CHAPTER IV
Ban on restrictive practices
CHAPTER V
Control of restrictive practices
CHAPTER VI
Obligation to provide information
Implementation of competition rules etc. pursuant to the Agreement on the European Economic Area