GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Manda and Venetia Lazaratou, Karatzas & Partners
3.7 Review Process After the HCC deems the notification to be complete, it will follow the below review and decision process. • In case the HCC concludes that the notified con - centration does not fall within the jurisdictional thresholds, the President of the HCC will issue a decision within 30 calendar days from the receipt of a complete notification. • In case the HCC considers that the notified con - centration does not raise any adverse effects on the relevant markets, the HCC will issue a decision approving the concentration within 30 calendar days from the receipt of a complete notification (Phase I process). • In case the HCC considers that the concentra - tion raises serious doubts as to its compatibility with competition law in the relevant markets, the President of the HCC will issue a decision within 30 calendar days from the date of the notification and will initiate the procedure of full investigation of the notified concentration (Phase II process). The participating parties should be immediately informed of this decision. The case is subsequently introduced before the HCC within 45 days from the date on which the in-depth assessment is initiated (the “hearing”). Prior to the hearing, the HCC will issue a report summarising its findings, similar to the statement of objections (SO) of the EC under the EUMR, on which the parties will be invited to comment. The parties can offer remedies either during the Phase I investigation within 20 calendar days from the date of the notification or during the Phase II investigation within 20 days of the HCC SO. Under the Phase II process, the HCC must issue its decision within 90 calendar days follow - ing the initiation of the Phase II review process. In case the deadline of 90 days lapses unused, it is assumed that the HCC has approved the concen - tration. The timeframe within which the HCC shall issue its decision under the Phase I and Phase II review pro - cess may be extended subject to the parties’ consent. In terms of an overall estimated timeline, it is esti - mated that the HCC would issue its decision approxi - mately 75 days after the submission of the notifica -
• a power of attorney for representation by a legal counsel (PoA), which should be dully notarised (and apostilled where necessary); • presentations made from/to the Board of Directors or presented to the Board of Directors or the gen - eral assembly, which include competitive assess - ments; and • proof of payment of the filing fee. The notification itself and the accompanying docu - ments should be submitted in Greek. If the accompa - nying documents are drafted in a language other than Greek, an official (ie, certified by an attorney) transla - tion in Greek should be also submitted. 3.6 Penalties/Consequences of Incomplete or Inaccurate Notification The HCC officially commences the review process of the notified concentration as soon as the filing is deemed to be complete. In case the filing is found to be incomplete, the HCC may, within seven work - ing days of the submission of the notification, request further clarifications through RFIs. Only when the HCC considers that the filing is complete, the Phase I review period commences. In cases where the information requested by the HCC is being refused, obstructed or delayed, or where the information provided is inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, the HCC may impose on the undertak - ings concerned fines of up to 1% of their aggregate worldwide turnover for the financial year preceding the decision and fines of up to 3% of their aggregate worldwide turnover on a daily basis (and for as long as the infringement takes place). In addition, the HCC may also impose fines on the undertakings’ execu - tives ranging from EUR15,000 to EUR30,000 per day of non-compliance. Lastly, those that refuse or obstruct the requested information may be also subject to imprisonment for at least six months. In 2011, the HCC imposed fines of EUR20,000 and EUR15,000 respectively on two gas-providing com - panies for inter alia delaying providing the information requested (HCC Decision 516/VI/2011 – EPA Thes- salias / EPA Thessalonikis ).
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