The guide is intended to support an informed discussion on competition matters, create the conditions for consumer and business scrutiny, advocate for competition at the governmental level, and guide companies and their advisers. The Competition Authority conducts regular surveys among the public and businesses, which are used in shaping the Authority's guidance role. The latest surveys can be accessed here and here.

By its nature, guidance and other educational and informational material at the Competition Authority are constantly evolving. We are always open to good ideas, and if you have one or have any questions, you can always send an email to samkeppni@samkeppni.is.

Below is an overview of the various guides and information available on the Competition Authority's website. It should be noted that the Authority is working on an update to its website to make this content even more accessible.

The homepage provides accessible guidance on several core principles of competition law. It covers the main types of infringements and barriers to entry, guides on the key issues for businesses, governments or individuals, and answers common questions under each section.

For example, under merger matters there is guidance on merger notifications, merger fees and merger investigations; under market dominance, the market-dominant position and its abuse are discussed; and under illegal collusion, there is guidance on the liability of individuals, how offending companies or individuals can come forward and avoid prosecution or fines, and publishes detailed guidance for trade associations and on exemptions from the prohibition on collusion.

Illegal collusion
Market dominance
Merger case
Market research
Competition and the public sector
Market definitions

The Competition Authority places great emphasis on ensuring that all its decisions are thorough, well-reasoned and in accordance with the law and regulations. The homepage provides a summary of the main laws and regulations concerning the activities of the Competition Authority, as well as procedural and guidance rules which stakeholders may find useful to refer to. An overview of the rules and guidelines can be accessed. here. All regulations concerning competition matters can also be accessed at the official gazette of Iceland.

The activities of the Competition Authority

The Competition Authority operates in accordance with Competition Act No. 44/2005.

The supervisory authority is also entrusted with various tasks under other legislation. In this context, the following may be mentioned:

As an authority, the Competition Authority must also consider Administrative Law No. 37/1993 and Act on access to information no. 140/2012 in its operations.

Procedural and Guidelines Rules
The Competition Authority has established detailed procedural rules in order to ensure transparency and high-quality working practices. The Competition Authority's procedural rules can be accessed here. See also rules on Competition Authority Market Research No. 490/2013.

In addition, various guidelines have been issued. These are intended to make it easier for companies and public bodies to assess their competitive position, including whether their conduct is likely to harm competition. These include rules and guidelines on merger notification, when it is possible to request the cancellation or reduction of fines in a cartel case, and when company collusion is exempt from the prohibition of competition law. These rules and guidelines can be accessed here, see also the list below.

  • Rules No. 1390/2020 on merger notification
  • Rules No. 890/2005 on the waiver or reduction of fines in consultation cases
  • Instructions on the application of Article 15 of the Competition Act, an exception to the prohibition on undertakings' cooperation

Rules on group exemptions
Agreements and decisions which contravene Article 10 of the Competition Act and Article 53(1) of the EEA Agreement are automatically void. However, pursuant to Article 15(3) of the Competition Act, the competition authority may issue regulations granting an exemption from the provisions of Articles 10 and 12 of the Act to certain types of agreements that meet the conditions of Article 15(1) of the Act. This is known as a block exemption. This is based on a similar provision in Article 53(3) of the EEA Agreement.

It is for the companies themselves to assess whether their agreements meet the conditions for such a group exemption. An overview of the competition authority's website can be accessed. Main group exemptions which are in force.

European rules and guidelines
Icelandic competition law traces its roots to European competition law. For example, the provisions of Article 10. and 11 of the Competition Act, concerning illegal collusion and abuse of a dominant position, are modelled on Articles 53 and 54 of the EEA Agreement, which has been enacted into domestic law by Act No. 2 of 1993.

The cooperation of competition authorities in Europe is broad. Both the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and the European Commission have contributed to the establishment of guidelines on the application of competition law provisions, which national competition authorities, including the Icelandic one, are required to take into account. This is, among other things, a means of ensuring a consistent application of competition rules throughout the entire EEA area.

All instructions issued by ESA are available in Icelandic. here.

Attention should be drawn to several important guidelines from the EIB, which have been published in Icelandic, as they are substantially comparable to the legal instruments issued by the ECJ:

As previously noted, the Competition Authority has also issued guidelines. Many of them take into account comparable guidance from the ESA, for example, on companies' self-assessment with regard to Article 15 of the Competition Act and on the application of competition rules to horizontal and vertical cooperation between companies. These guidelines from the Competition Authority supplement the ESA's guidelines.

Guidelines from the Commission
All guidelines issued by the European Commission can be accessed. here.

The homepage contains detailed guidance for those wishing to lodge a complaint with the regulator regarding competitive conditions or the conduct of companies or government authorities. It provides guidance on the content of such submissions, how the authority assesses the grounds for investigation, discusses its powers to prioritise cases, and outlines the rules on anonymity and procedure.

Instructions on this can be found. here.

It is also possible to direct anonymous tips to the monitoring via the homepage and instructions are provided for it.

Competition law is based on principles that find a clear link in the objective of Article 1 of the Competition Act, but are then shaped in practice by the decisions of competition authorities and the courts. For company executives, lawyers and other advisers, the most important guidance is contained in the reasoned decisions of competition authorities and the courts. The competition authority has therefore endeavoured to provide ready access to decisions, Decisions of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, opinions and Reviews to the authorities, as well as reports on a wide range of issues.

The Competition Authority has also published an overview of court rulings from the beginning, which simultaneously provides direct access to the relevant judgments. Below you can also find an overview of rulings by the Ombudsman of the Althingi and an overview of penalty decisions from the outset. These overviews should provide those dealing with competition matters with important access to precedents that are significant in the enforcement of competition law.

When there is a specific reason, the Competition Authority publishes special information and guidance pages on specific issues that are in the spotlight. Here is an overview of information pages of this kind:

The release of educational videos is in line with the legislature's desire to strengthen the Competition Authority's role as an advocate for the competition law and for vigorous competition. These priorities are also in line with the objectives set out in the financial plan for the supervisory authority's remit. The homepage discusses this in more detail. Discussion and educational role The Competition Authority in this regard.

Promotional videos of the Competition Authority are available. here. The two most recent are promotional videos on competition law and the competition authority, and the abuse of a dominant market position. A third video on illegal collusion will be published shortly.

These videos have been widely shared on social media and have become part of corporate promotional material for staff and management. The authority is also making the videos available to schools, as they can also be used for the general public.

The Competition Authority endeavours to participate in discussions on competition matters. Thus, the Authority takes part in meetings and conferences and publishes Speeches and presentations for that reason. The supervisory authority also publishes columns, presents the supervisory authority's position on News on the homepage and replies Frequently Asked Questions that arise.

The supervisory authority then holds a series of meetings under the collective title „A conversation about competition“, where the supervisory authority communicates guidance and viewpoints to stakeholders, government authorities and the public, whilst also listening to viewpoints that may be of benefit. The following meetings and conferences may be mentioned:

1. 13 June 2022: Morning conference on competition, inflation and purchasing power.

2. 1 June 2021: A discussion on the handling of merger cases.

3. 9 June 2020: A multinational online conference on competition policy and protectionism in the time of COVID-19.

4. 11 December 2019: Public discussion on the new merger rules.

5. 30 November 2019: Public consultation on the draft guidelines on exemptions from the prohibition on collusion.

6. 16 October 2019: Meeting on procedures for merger investigations.

7. 22-24 February 2017: Twelve promotional meetings on the assessment of competition and the reform of business regulation, with public institutions and business interest groups.

8. 25 May 2016: A panel discussion on ownership of commercial enterprises, the role of pension funds and their impact on competition.

9. 18 February 2016: Conference on the application of competition rules in Iceland and the European Economic Area, where the keynote speaker was Gjermund Mathisen, Head of Competition at the ESA.

10. 12 February 2016: A discussion on competition in agriculture.

11. 3 December 2015: A briefing on the impact of government on competition and competition assessment, where the keynote speaker was Ania Thiemann, an economist at the OECD.

European competition law generally prohibits competition authorities from providing guidance on specific competition situations in advance, such as on the lawfulness of corporate collaborations or market definitions. European competition law is generally based on companies' own assessment, but the dynamic participation of companies in the business life and the efficiency of the economy requires that companies bear full responsibility for their own activities.

The limitation of the substantive guidance of individual competition authorities is intended not least to promote consistency in the application of the EU/EEA rules. Detailed substantive and preliminary guidance from competition authorities in different Member States would quickly jeopardise the uniform application of EU/EEA rules, as the European Commission or the ESA would have limited opportunities to intervene in such developments.

The safeguards are therefore intended to ensure that competition rules are always applied in the context of the circumstances at any given time. By, for example, providing substantive guidance on market definitions in advance, without being able to ascertain what the market conditions will be in the future, competition authorities could be working against the healthy development of markets and the efficiency of business. In competition law, competition authorities therefore have a duty to determine market definitions on a case-by-case basis.

These principles of European competition law were clearly set out in the amendments to Article 15 of the Competition Act, pursuant to the Amending Act No. 103/2020. With that Act, the practice of the Competition Authority granting immunity from illegal collusion was abandoned and the rule that had been in force in EU law since 2003 was adopted, that companies assess and bear responsibility for whether the conditions for the exemption in Article 15 are met. Following the amendment, the Competition Authority is only intended to provide general guidance and subsequently enforce the application of Article 15 through investigations into potential breaches ex-post.

The bill which became Act no. 103/2020 stated, inter alia, the following about this:

„In order for the objectives of simplification and efficiency to be achieved, the companies themselves must bear full responsibility for the assessment in question. Otherwise, the changes will not result in increased efficiency for business if guidance from the Competition Authority is sought to a large extent. It is important to emphasise that the Competition Authority's guidance will be of a general nature and, following the change, the authority will no longer be able to provide companies with binding opinions in advance on whether specific conduct meets the statutory requirements. Instead, the Competition Authority will monitor this when slSimilar cooperation is put into practice.“