The AMCU Clarified Calculations of Fines for the Violations of Competition Law

After holding public discussion at the meeting on 09.08.2016 the AMCU adopted new Recommendatory clarifications on the application of the provisions of the second, fifth and sixth paragraph of Article 52 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Economic Competition”, paragraphs one and two of Article 21 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection against Unfair Competition” relating to the calculations of fines.

Clarifications concern the following aspects:

• Approach to the calculations of the basic fine to be imposed for the most severe, severe and moderate gravity violation. Taking into account the impact of the violation on related markets, social significance of goods and profitability of activities associated with the violation, the coefficients are applied one by one to the initial amount of the fine in order to measure the basic fine.
• Opportunity of the offender to provide its own justified calculation of the inappropriately received benefit and/or losses (damages) incurred by a person (persons), whose rights have been infringed as a result of the respective violations of the legislation on protection of economic competition, in order to measure the basic amount of the fine.

Please note that the main idea of the calculations of fines suggested by the AMCU lies in the fact that the fine for violation of competition laws should exceed the inappropriately received profit and have a deterrent effect. However, the AMCU asserts that a business entity should not be removed from the market or be unable to compete because of such fine.