An article by Innherji in the business supplement of Morgunblaðið misrepresents the Competition Authority's investigation into the exemption application concerning the cooperation between Eimskipafélagið and Royal Arctic Line (RAL).
- The paper says that the collaboration was announced in early 2016. The correct information is that the Competition Authority received an exemption request regarding the collaboration on 9 May 2017, or just over a year later than is claimed in the paper.
- It is incorrect to state that the result of the investigation was available in September 2019. The truth is that the decision was made on that day. 17 April 2019, cf. decision No. 13/2019, which is available on the authority's website. Samskip subsequently appealed the decision to the Competition Appeals Board, which ruled on the matter last September. However, that procedure did not suspend the legal effect of the Competition Authority's decision.
- The paper suggests that the shipping companies had to wait in 1,334 days following the decision of the Competition Authority. The fact is that it passed 111 active days from the time the Competition Authority received a signed copy of the said cooperation agreement until the decision was issued. A signed copy of the cooperation agreement was not submitted with the exemption request.
However, it passed, though 44 working days from the time the Competition Authority received the last necessary information from the applicants for exemption until the decision was made. The companies concerned are responsible for justifying and submitting the necessary information to support their application for exemption. It is not possible to make a sufficient assessment of the request before then.
The above is presented in support of the need to amend the Competition Act. The Competition Authority welcomes a substantive debate on competition matters and possible amendments to the Competition Act. However, it is important that such discussion is based on accurate information.
