In the decision of the Competition Authority No. 32/2008 On 15 May 2008, it was concluded that Sundagarðar ehf. had breached the notification requirement of the merger provisions of the Competition Act. This concerned the acquisition by Sundagarðar of all the shares in Borgarnes Kjötvörum ehf. The Competition Authority considered that a sufficient merger notification had not been received by the authority until 13 March 2008, or more than two months after the merger was required to be notified. By doing so, the company had breached its merger notification obligations and was therefore fined 750,000 krónur.
Sundagarðar appealed the case to the Competition Appeals Board. In its ruling, the Competition Appeals Board upheld the Competition Authority's decision that Sundagarðar had breached its notification obligation. The ruling states that the panel considers the merger notification provisions of the Competition Act to be of paramount importance, and that the institution's essential supervision of mergers affecting markets cannot be maintained unless they are respected. Thus, breaches of the notification requirements are serious, particularly when a long period elapses between the completion of a merger and the submission of a satisfactory notification. The fine in question was therefore considered to be reasonably proportionate and was upheld by the Commission.
Decision No. 10/2008.
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