The Decision of the Ankara 3rd Administrative Court Clarifying That Competition Board May
It has been clarified that Competition Board (“Board”) may request information and documents from undertakings whose headquarters are located abroad by notifying their affiliates in Turkey with Ankara 3rd Administrative Court’s decision numbered 2020/1303 E., 2021/477 K. and dated 04.03.2021.
The Board requested some information and documents from the relevant undertakings’ affiliates abroad within the scope of one of its preliminary investigations with respect to certain activities of banks and financial institutions operating in Turkey and their representative offices regarding deposit, credit, foreign exchange, bonds, bills, stocks and intermediary services. Five undertakings, including ING Bank A.Ş. (“ING”), did not provide the relevant information to the Competition Authority (“Authority”) on the grounds that (i) submission of the requested data could lead to a violation within the scope of the GDPR, (ii) the requested information was beyond the Authority’s power, (iii) the requested data was not in their possession and (iv) the notification should have been made to the parent undertakings.
The Board rejected these claims and decided to impose an administrative fine to the undertakings that did not provide the requested data and information and also requested the relevant information to be submitted to the Authority (“Board’s Decision”).
ING filed an annulment lawsuit before the administrative courts against the Board’s Decision. Ankara 3rd Administrative Court, rejecting the case, decided that Board’s Decision was lawful.
In this context, Ankara 3rd Administrative Court evaluated that
- The existence of an entity such as a branch or sales office is deemed sufficient to be qualified as an undertaking and that the information and document request can be directed to this addressee,
- As per Article 2 of the Law No. 4054, any undertaking operating in or affecting the goods and service markets within the borders of the Republic of Turkey shall be considered within the scope of the law.
In the light of the relevant evaluations, it has been clarified that the Board may request information from undertakings with headquarters abroad by notifying their affiliates in Turkey.
All rights of this article are reserved. This article may not be used, reproduced, copied, published, distributed, or otherwise disseminated without quotation or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm's written consent. Any content created without citing the resource or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm’s written consent is regularly tracked, and legal action will be taken in case of violation.
Other Contents
The Protocol on Cooperation and Exchange of Information (Protocol) was signed between the Personal Data Protection Authority and the Competition Authority. The cooperation between the authorities aims to prevent practices that may harm both the privacy of personal data and the establishment of...
The Regulation on Foreign Subsidies Distorting the Internal Market (Regulation), which was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (EU) dated 23.12.2022 and numbered L/330 entered into force on 12.01.2023, and became applicable as of 12.07.2023...
The Bundeskartellamt decided on June 26, 2023 that (Decision) several practices and contractual clauses used by the German national railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) in relation to rival mobility platforms constitute an abuse of market power in the mobility services market...
Turkish Competition Board (Board) announced its final decision (Decision) as a result of the investigation conducted against certain undertakings through gentlemen’s agreement pursuant to the Board decisions dated 01.04.2021 and numbered 21-18/213-M, dated 05.08.2021 and numbered 21-37/527-M, dated...
In its judgment of July 4, 2023 (Decision), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the national competition authorities may rely on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in their investigation in respect of abuse of dominant position...
The investigation initiated against DSM Grup Danışmanlık İletişim ve Satış Ticaret A.Ş. (Trendyol) with the Competition Board (Board) decision dated 23.09.2021 and numbered 21-44/650-M is concluded. In this context, the Board decided in its short decision (Decision) that...
The German Parliament (Bundestag) has adopted the 11th GWB amendment on July 6, 2023. (Wettbewerbsdurchsetzungsgesetz) After being approved by the Bundesrat, Germany’s second legislative body, the legislative procedure will be completed, approximately by the end of September. The amendment proposal...
The Constitutional Court (CC), in its decision dated 23.03.2023 and numbered 2019/40991 (CC Decision), stated that workplaces such as the headquarters, branches and facilities are considered as domicile within the scope of Article 21 of the Constitution and ruled that the competence granted to competition...
The Competition Authority presented its important studies on various sectors to the public. The reports, which address the competition law implications of the transformation in digital markets, and include findings and assessments on the fast-moving consumer goods retailing and online advertising sectors...
Through the Law No. 7440 on Restructuring of Certain Receivables and Amending Certain Laws (Law No. 7440) published in the Official Gazette dated 12.03.2023 and No. 32130, procedures and principles regarding restructuring of the certain public receivables are regulated...
The General Court of the European Union ("General Court") annulled the decision of the European Commission ("Commission"), which found that Qualcomm, the world's largest LTE baseband chipset (“chipset”) supplier, had abused its dominant position in the said market and imposed a fine of €997 million...
Turkish Competition Board (“The Board”), with its decision numbered 22-24/385-M has decided to initiate an investigation against DSM Grup Danışmanlık İletişim ve Satış Ticaret A.Ş. (“Trendyol”)...
European Commission adopted the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”) accompanied by the New Vertical Guidelines on May 10, 2022. The new rules are simpler and clearer, which enables companies to assess the compatibility of...
Pursuant to the Communiqué Amending Communiqué Concerning the Mergers and Acquisitions Calling for the Authorization of the Competition Board (“Amending Communiqué”) published in the Official Gazette...
Competition Authority Published the Guideline on Examining Digital Data During On-Site Inspections
Competition Board Decision regarding implementation of administrative fines for some banks due to not providing the information requested by the Competition Authority
Competition Board conditionally approved the Merger Transaction of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Peugeot S.A.
Competition Board initiated an Investigation against Facebook and Whatsapp
The Competition Board Rejected the Request for Exemption to the Agreement Between Johnson & Johnson and Pharmaceutical Warehouses
Competition Board's Interim Measure Decision on WhatsApp has been published
Competition Board's Investigation against Google concluded
Competition Board initiated an Investigation against 32 Undertakings concerning the Labor Market
The Regulation on Settlement is published
Significant Amendments are Introduced to the Block Exemption Communiqué on Vertical Agreements