Competition Law at Turkey
Here’s a detailed overview of Competition Law in Turkey:
🇹🇷 Competition Law in Turkey
1. Legal Framework:
The main legislation is the Competition Law No. 4054, enacted in 1994 and amended several times since.
This law establishes the legal basis for promoting and protecting competition in Turkey.
It is enforced by the Turkish Competition Authority (Rekabet Kurumu).
2. Objectives:
To prevent anti-competitive agreements and practices.
To prohibit abuse of dominant positions.
To control mergers and acquisitions that may substantially restrict competition.
To foster efficient markets and protect consumer interests.
3. Regulatory Authority:
The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) is an independent administrative body responsible for enforcing competition law.
TCA investigates complaints, conducts dawn raids, reviews mergers, and imposes sanctions.
4. Key Provisions:
A. Anti-competitive Agreements (Article 4):
Prohibits agreements, decisions, or concerted practices that prevent, restrict, or distort competition.
Includes price-fixing, market-sharing, bid-rigging, and limiting production.
B. Abuse of Dominant Position (Article 6):
Firms with dominant market power are prohibited from abusing this position.
Examples of abuse include predatory pricing, unfair pricing, refusal to deal, and exclusive agreements.
C. Merger Control (Articles 7-11):
Mergers and acquisitions must be notified to TCA if the combined turnover of the parties exceeds certain thresholds.
The TCA reviews the transactions to assess their impact on competition.
It can approve, conditionally approve, or prohibit mergers.
5. Enforcement and Penalties:
The TCA has the authority to impose significant fines—up to 10% of the company’s annual turnover in Turkey.
The Authority can conduct dawn raids and request information from companies.
Parties have the right to appeal decisions to administrative courts.
6. Recent Developments:
The TCA actively prosecutes cartels and abuses of dominance, especially in sectors like construction, pharmaceuticals, energy, and telecommunications.
Turkey aligns its competition policies with EU standards, reflecting its customs union with the EU.
Increasing use of leniency programs to encourage cartel reporting.
Summary
Turkey’s Competition Law No. 4054 provides a comprehensive competition framework enforced by the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA). The law regulates anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance, and merger control, ensuring fair competition and protecting consumers in the Turkish market.
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