To submit a complaint for action about a suspected illegal restriction of competition
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- Nationwide
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Complaints are an important source of information to the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) in safeguarding healthy competition. The FCCA nevertheless has to prioritise the complaints it receives and focus on investigating cases of restriction of competition that have significant negative effects on the national economy.
Any agreements or procedures aimed at significantly preventing ...
Do the following
A complaint should include at least the following information:
- Information about the parties:
1.1. The contact information, nature of business and group relations (if any) of the party submitting the complaint.
1.2. The contact information, nature of business and group relations (if any) of the party against whom the request for action is made, and the relationship between the submitter and target of the complaint.
2. Suspected restriction of competition and evidence
2.1. An accurate and justified description of the suspected restriction(s) of competition, as defined in Articles 101 or 102 of the TFEU, or in Sections 5-7 of the Competition Act.
2.2 An estimate of the duration of the restriction of competition, the form in which the restriction is
still in place, or the date on which the restriction ended.
2.3. Copies of the evidence in possession of or accessible to the party submitting the complaint, and the contact information of potential witnesses, if any.
3. Market information:
3.1. A description of the market position of the target of the complaint and the party submitting the complaint.
3.2 The view of the party submitting the complaint of the competing products and services affected by the restriction of competition (the relevant commodity market).
3.3 The view of the party submitting the complaint of the geographic area affected by the restriction of competition (the relevant geographic market).
3.4 An estimate of the size, market share and barriers to entry of the relevant markets.
4. Effects of suspected restriction of competition
4.1. A report on the primary targets of the effects of the suspected restriction of competition and the key effects of the suspected restriction of competition to the parties.
4.2. A report on the justifications (if any) of the party against whom the complaint is made for the measures taken, the view of the party submitting the complaint of the potential effects of the restriction of competition that increase financial efficiency (if any), or the customers’ possibilities to evade or avoid the measures taken to restrict competition.
4.3. An estimate of the financial losses caused by the suspected restriction of competition.
5. Other relevant aspects.
Please submit your complaint to the FCCA registry either by post, address: P.O. Box 5, FI-00531 Helsinki, or by email, address: kirjaamo@kkv.fi.
To whom and on what terms
A complaint can primarily be submitted by companies who, pursuant to the Competition Act, seek to protect themselves against prohibited restrictions of competition employed by their trading partners.
It is not the FCCA’s immediate task to safeguard an individual trader, especially if the trader against whom the restriction of competition has been employed can protect themselves by other means, such as by taking the matter to court. As an indirect effect, however, enforcing the Competition Act also often improves the market position of an individual trader.
The FCCA will see that the matter presented in the request for action is investigated, but the party submitting the complaint must also contribute to solving the matter.
Investigating significant restrictions of competition usually requires quite extensive investigative measures. For this reason, the request for action should contain as detailed information as possible on the restriction of competition and how it was implemented, the parties, the markets, and the effects of the restriction of competition on the markets.
As a rule, requests for action are public information, and so is the identity of the party submitting the complaint. Identity can only be hidden for a specific reason, such as very important public or private interest.
A complaint concerning a regional restriction of competition can also be submitted to the local Regional State Administrative Agency.