KOSOVO Law and Practice Contributed by: Ardian Rexha, Nora Grajcevci Mehmeti and Vjollca Hiseni, Rex Law Partners
Within 60 days of the initiation of the assessment pro - cedure, the Authority issues a final decision either pro - hibiting the concentration, approving it unconditionally or approving it subject to specified conditions. If the permit is conditional, the parties are required to com - ply with imposed conditions; otherwise, the approval decision may be revoked. 6.3 Cartels Article 5 of the LPC prohibits agreements, decisions and concerted practices between undertakings that are aimed at preventing, restricting or distorting com - petition in a relevant market. In particular, the following are considered anti-competitive: • directly or indirectly fixing selling or purchasing prices or other trading conditions; • restricting production, markets, technical develop - ment or investment output; • market sharing/allocation; • applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent trans - actions; and • making the conclusion of contracts subject to sup - plementary obligations that have no connection to the object of the contract. Notwithstanding the foregoing, certain agreements may be exempted under certain conditions where otherwise they would be considered anti-competitive. These exemptions are granted for agreements that contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods, or promote technical or economic progress, while allowing consumers a fair share of the result - ing benefits. Additionally, these agreements must not impose unreasonable restrictions that go beyond what is necessary to achieve their objectives, nor may it eliminate competition in respect of a substantial part of the products or services concerned. Block exemptions are also provided for certain cat - egories of agreements, as follows: • vertical agreements, particularly exclusive distribu - tion agreements, selective distribution agreements, exclusive purchase and exclusivity agreements; • horizontal agreements in research, development and specialisation agreements; • tech transfer agreements;
• agreements for distribution and servicing of vehi - cles; • insurance agreements; and • agreements between enterprises in transport sec - tor. Scope of Application The scope of the Law on Protection of Competition is not limited to conduct within Kosovo, but to con - duct that produces effects on the Kosovo market, regardless of where the undertakings are established or where the relevant activity takes place. If an anti- competitive agreement is concluded between foreign undertakings, it may still fall in within these prohibi - tions if it affects competition within Kosovo. 6.4 Abuse of Dominant Position An undertaking is considered to hold a dominant posi - tion when, due to its power in the market, it can oper - ate independently of actual or potential competitors, consumers, purchasers or suppliers in the relevant market. Dominant position is especially considered if the undertaking has no significant competitors in the relevant market and has substantial power compared to other competitions, for instance, in reference to their position in the market, financial strength access to suppliers or ability to impose market conditions on its supply or demand. A rebuttable presumption of dominance is established if the relevant undertaking holds a share of 40% or more in a relevant market. A group of undertakings may also be presumed dominant if their joint market share exceeds 60% and they operate jointly or are able to operate independently of market conditions. Article 9 of the LPC prohibits the misuse of a dominant position. Examples of abusive conduct include: • directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions; • limiting production, markets or technical develop - ment at the expense of consumers; • applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent trans - actions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage;
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