PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Armando Martins Ferreira, Inês Sequeira Mendes and Margarida Calixto Kolmer, Abreu Advogados
1.7 Principles of Comity As a member state competition authority, the PCA is entitled to ensure compliance with Article 101 of the TFEU when the geographic scope of the alleged cartel goes beyond the frontiers of Portuguese territory and affects trade between member states. In this case, the Competition Act provides that when the PCA learns that a competition author - ity in another member state has initiated pro - ceedings relating to the same facts pursuant to the same articles of the TFEU, the period of limi - tation of the infringement is suspended until the PCA has been informed of the decision handed down in the other case. The party concerned must be notified by the PCA of the decision to suspend the case, as established in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 1/2003 of 16 December 2002. 1.8 Enforcement Priorities Bid rigging has been the predominant form of cartel conduct under investigation, particularly in public procurement cases involving sectors such as construction, IT, and healthcare. A notable example occurred in July 2022, when the PCA fined several security service companies approx - imately EUR42 million for colluding in public pro - curement processes. Bid rigging is considered a serious infringement due to its impact on pub - lic procurement and market competition. While price-fixing cases do occur, they are less fre - quent in published decisions and often depend on leniency applications or evidence gathered through dawn raids. For instance, in April 2024, the PCA fined the Portuguese Association of Companies in Condominium Management and Administration (APEGAC) EUR1.17 million for engaging in price-fixing practices. Domestic cartels represent the bulk of enforce - ment actions, as most cases investigated by
sional, so there is no specific exemption for any sector or industry. Nonetheless, companies that are legally in charge of a service of general economic interest, or that benefit from a legal monopoly, are subject to the provisions of the Competition Act, but only to the extent that they are not impeded, in law or in fact, in the fulfilment of their specific mission. The Competition Act applies to prohibited prac - tices that have occurred in Portuguese territory and which have had, or may have, an effect in the Portuguese territory (effects doctrine), with - out prejudice to the international obligations of the Portuguese state. In this sense, if cartel conduct in a foreign state influences competition in Portugal, it could be subject to the Portuguese Competition Act. Fur - thermore, when trade between member states is at stake, both national competition authorities or national courts and the European Commission (EC) are competent to enforce Article 101 of the TFEU. The implementation of the ECN+ Directive into Portuguese law has brought new provisions for the purposes of co-operation between national competition authorities, including endowing the PCA with powers to investigate and gather evi - dence, as well as powers for the enforcement of decisions to impose fines or periodic penalty payments, subject to Portuguese law and in Por - tuguese territory, in the name and on behalf of other national competition authorities. Likewise, the PCA is able to request other competition authorities to execute such tasks in the name of the PCA in their respective jurisdictions.
264 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook