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COMP ET I T I ON LAW
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restricting the amount of supply or imposing quotas, and
•
bid-rigging.
Cartels may be established by the explicit will of the member
undertakings. However, under certain circumstances, undertakings may
indicate their will for establishing a cartel in an implicit way which does
not include any communication with each other.
In addition, cartels, which do not have any positive effects on relevant
markets, are called “
hardcore
” cartels, and they are definitely prohibited.
II.
Fines For Cartels
Pursuant to Article 5 of the Fines Regulation, for cartels, a fine of
between two percent and four percent of the annual gross revenues of the
undertakings and associations of undertakings or the members of such
associations generated at the end of the fiscal year preceding the final
decision, or, if that cannot be calculated, at the end of the fiscal year closest
to the date of the final decision, will be imposed.
In addition, pursuant to the Regulation mentioned above, any relation to
a cartel can have an aggravating cause on fines. Article 6 of the Regulation
stipulates that the relevant fines will be increased by 50 to 100% if any
undertaking continues to be part of a cartel after the notification of the
decision on the investigation. In the same manner, each of the managers
and employees of the undertaking who were detected to have decisive
influence on the cartel will be separately assessed a fine of between
three percent and five percent of the fine given to the actual undertaking,
according to Article 8 of the Regulation
III.
Active Cooperation (Leniency)
Cartels are considered to be the most significant type of competition
restriction. As a result of the price increase caused by cartels, some of
the consumers cannot purchase the relevant products and thereby they
bear a loss by the lack of such products or services. On the other hand,
undertakings who are members of cartels do not reduce the costs and
would not be receptive to technological innovation, which they would
have done in the effective competition environment. The establishment of
cartels increases prices, abolishes effectiveness, reduces entrepreneurship,