Reduction or cancellation of fines

The Competition Authority's rules on the remission and reduction of fines are numbered. 890/2005 and can be accessed here.

To make it easier for the Competition Authority to uncover illegal cooperation between companies, rules have been introduced that allow companies participating in such cooperation to withdraw from it. By blowing the whistle on the collaboration and cooperating with the Competition Authority in its investigation, companies can avoid fines or have their fines reduced to a much lower amount than would otherwise be the case.

It should be noted that under competition law, fines for serious infringements of competition law can amount to up to 101% of a company's annual turnover. Rules comparable to those set out here are in force in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere. Experience abroad has shown that the rules have led to the exposure of illegal collusion and have greatly facilitated the investigation of cases.

In view of this, it is considered that the public interest in uncovering illegal corporate collusion outweighs the fines that are waived when companies cooperate with competition authorities to disclose such conduct.

Rules on the remission or reduction of fines apply exclusively to infringements concerning illegal collusion. An undertaking that is a party to an illegal collusion or an illegal concerted practice may have fines that would otherwise have been imposed on it remitted or reduced. In this context, it is crucial that the company in question is the first to alert the Competition Authority to the existence of an infringement, or the first to provide evidence that enables the Authority to prove such an infringement.

Samkvæmt samkeppnislögum
getur Samkeppniseftirlitið einnig ákveðið að kæra ekki til lögreglu brot
starfsmanna og stjórnenda fyrirtækja sem hafa frumkvæði að því að láta
eftirlitinu í té upplýsingar eða gögn vegna brota á banni við samráði
fyrirtækja eða hagsmunasamtaka þeirra. Reglur um lækkun og niðurfellingu sekta
eru nú í endurskoðun með hliðsjón af fenginni reynslu og breytingum sem hafa
átt sér stað í regluverki hér á landi og á evrópska efnahagssvæðinu.

Key points of the rules

Under the rules, the Competition Authority will waive the fine for a company that would otherwise have been fined:

• if a company is the first among companies to provide competition authorities with evidence which, in their opinion, could lead to an investigation into alleged illegal collusion
• if a company is the first to provide the competition authorities with evidence which, in their view, enables them to prove the illegal collusion

To have a fine dismissed The company must also meet the following requirements:

• to show full co-operation during the course of the investigation and to provide the competition authorities with all evidence and all information in its possession in relation to the alleged infringement during the course of the investigation
• they must cease their participation in the alleged offence no later than when the illegal collusion is discovered
• it must not have forced other companies to participate in the illegal collusion

Although a company may not meet the conditions for having a fine quashed, it may nevertheless meet the conditions for having the amount of the fine reduced in a case concerning illegal company collusion.

To have a fine reduced verður fyrirtæki að láta Samkeppniseftirlitinu í té sönnunargögn sem að mati stofnunarinnar eru mikilvæg viðbót við þau sönnunargögn sem stofnunin hefur þegar undir höndum. Þá verður fyrirtækið einnig að hætta þátttöku sinni í hinu meinta  ólögmæta samráði.

When assessing the extent of a reduction in the fine, consideration is given to the point at which the company submitted the evidence and the significance of that evidence to the investigation. The Competition Authority also takes into account the company's willingness to cooperate after it submitted the evidence. If a company meets the conditions for a reduction in the fine, the fine will be reduced as follows:

• The first company to meet the conditions for a reduction in its fine can have the fine amount reduced by 30 to 50%
• The other company that meets the conditions for a reduction in the fine can have the fine amount reduced by 20 to 30%
• Other companies that subsequently meet the conditions for a reduction in the fine can receive a reduction of up to 20% on the fine amount.

When the Competition Authority has verified that a company meets the conditions for the remission of a fine, the Authority notifies the company of this in writing. Furthermore, a company that requests a reduction in the fine amount and meets all conditions will be informed in writing that the amount of the fine to be imposed on the company is to be reduced.

A company wishing to have a fine cancelled or reduced shall make a request to the Competition Authority.