Fine up to 2 billion for violations of regulations on unfair competition

The Government has just issued Decree No. 75/2019/ND-CP stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of competition. Accordingly, the maximum fine for violations of regulations on unfair competition is 2 billion VND.

The Decree clearly states that, for each act of administrative violation on competition, the violating organization or individual shall be subject to one of the main sanctioning forms: Warning; monetary fine.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, organizations and individuals that violate the competition law may also be subject to one or several additional sanctions as follows: practicing certificate or suspending operation from 06 to 12 months; b) Confiscate the material evidences of the violation and the means used to commit the violation; c) Confiscate profits earned from the commission of violations; d) Withdraw the enterprise registration certificate or equivalent document.

In addition to the sanctions prescribed above, organizations and individuals that commit administrative violations against competition may also be forced to apply one or several remedial measures such as forced public rectification; forcible removal of infringing elements on goods, goods packaging, means of business, articles; force restructuring of enterprises that abuse their dominant market position, abuse their monopoly position; force the removal of illegal terms from a contract, agreement or business transaction; forced division, separation, resale of part or all of the contributed capital and assets of the enterprise formed after the economic concentration...

Fines for administrative violations on competition

According to the Decree, the maximum fine for violations of regulations on anti-competitive agreements, abusing a dominant market position, or abusing a monopoly position is 10% of the total revenue of an enterprise with a competitive advantage. violations on the relevant market in the fiscal year immediately preceding the year in which the violation is committed, but lower than the lowest fine level imposed on organizations or individuals committing violations specified in the Ministry of Finance. Criminal Law.

The maximum fine for violations of regulations on economic concentration is 05% of the total turnover of the violating enterprise in the relevant market in the fiscal year immediately preceding the year of committing the violation.

In case the total turnover of the violating enterprise in the relevant market in the fiscal year immediately preceding the year of committing the violation mentioned above is determined to be zero, a fine of from 100,000 shall be applied. 000 VND to 200,000,000 VND.

The maximum fine for violations of regulations on unfair competition is VND 2,000,000,000.

The maximum fine for other acts of violating the provisions of this Decree is VND 200,000,000.

The maximum fines specified in Chapter II of this Decree apply to violations committed by organizations; for individuals having the same administrative violation on competition, the maximum fine level is one-half of the maximum fine level for organizations.

The specific fine level for an administrative violation in the field of competition is the average of the fine bracket prescribed for that act.

If there are extenuating circumstances, the fine level may be reduced but must not exceed the minimum level of the fine bracket; if there are aggravating circumstances, the fine level may be increased but must not exceed the maximum fine level of the fine bracket.

For each extenuating circumstance, aggravating circumstance, the fine level determined according to regulations shall be adjusted to decrease or increase respectively by not more than 15% of the average level of the penalty frame.

This Decree takes effect from December 1, 2019.

According to Chinh phu