PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Armando Martins Ferreira, Inês Sequeira Mendes and Margarida Calixto Kolmer, Abreu Advogados
3.2 Amnesty/Immunity The last Amnesty Regime approved covers offences committed before 25 March 1999 and therefore has no current practical relevance. 3.3 Whistle-Blowers Portugal has a whistle-blower regime that applies to cartel conduct. It was introduced through Law No 93/2021, which transposed the EU Whistle - blower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937) into national law and came into force in June 2022. This law provides a general framework for the protection of individuals who report breaches of EU or national law, including infringements of competition law such as cartels. To benefit from whistle-blower protection under Law No 93/2021, the whistle-blower must act in good faith and have reasonable grounds to believe that the information reported is true at the time of disclosure. The report must concern a breach of law in one of the protected areas (which includes competition law), and it must be made via an appropriate channel – either inter - nally within the company or externally to the competent authority, such as the PCA. In some cases, public disclosure is also protected. While the law provides protection against retaliation, including dismissal, demotion, or harassment, it does not include financial rewards for whistle- blowers. The regime is not limited to bid rigging in public procurement. It applies more broadly to all forms of cartel behaviour, including price fixing, market allocation, customer sharing, and co-ordinated output restrictions. Bid rigging is included within the scope, but it is just one of several types of cartel conduct that can be reported and inves - tigated.
The PCA encourages companies to implement internal compliance mechanisms, including whistle-blower channels. These internal systems are viewed as effective tools for early detection and prevention of anticompetitive behaviour. The PCA promotes a compliance culture in the pri - vate sector and supports companies that take proactive steps, such as establishing hotlines or anonymous reporting systems for employees to report suspected infringements. 4. Procedural Framework for Cartel Enforcement 4.1 Obtaining Evidence From Employees The PCA can gather information and statements from company employees during dawn raids, formal interviews, or through requests for infor - mation. These actions are governed mainly by Articles 17 to 20 of the Competition Act. The PCA may approach current employees dur - ing inspections or through formal interviews to obtain information about the company’s activi - ties, especially regarding suspected cartel con - duct. The law does not expressly exclude former employees from being contacted or questioned, and in practice, the PCA may seek their co- operation, especially if they held relevant roles or had knowledge of the alleged practices. How - ever, former employees are not subject to the same internal co-operation obligations as cur - rent employees (under Article 19), since they are no longer under the company’s authority. Still, the PCA can invite them to provide statements voluntarily. If the PCA conducts a dawn raid, it may question employees on the spot. These are usually unan - nounced and carried out with a judicial warrant (under Article 18 (1) (b)). On-site questioning can
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