Honduras 2006

Score = 19

Governed by: The Law for the Defense and Promotion of Competition, Decree no. 527-2005 of November 26, 2005, entered into force in January 2006 (hereinafter referred to as “Competition Act”)

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	Article 4 states that the scope of the law extends to those whose activities have an effect within the national territory of Honduras.
Remedies	Fines	1	Articles 37-39, 41 deal with fines.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	1	Article 19(1) allows total or partial divestitures of improper mergers.
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	Article 49 allows outside parties to file complaints with the authority.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	1	Article 58 allows all concerned parties to seek damages through civil actions.
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	0
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	Article 13 requires mandatory notification of intended concentrations although prior verification is generally voluntary.
	Pre-merger	2	Article 13 requires notification to be pre-merger.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	Article 25(2) mandates that market power and degree of concentration be taken into account when determining which concentrations shall be challenged or sanctioned.
	Restriction of Competition	1	Article 19 prohibits mergers that have the effect of impeding competition.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	0
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	0
	Efficiency	1	Article 19 allows for an efficiency defense if the concentration would yield certain benefits like increasing the production or distribution of goods and services, promoting technical or economic progress or driving the competitive development of an industry or sector.
Dominance	Limits Access	1	Article 14(5) prohibits “unilateral action consisting in refusing to sell or provide, to certain persons, goods or services.”
	Abusive Acts	0
	Price Setting	1	Article 11(1) prohibits prices setting.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Article 8(7) of the Monopoly Decree of 1998 prohibited discriminatory pricing. Article 14 of the Competition Act prohibits general discriminatory practices.
	Resale Price Maintenance	1	Article 14(2) prohibits resale price maintenance
	Obstacles to Entry	1	Article 14(7) prohibits predatory actions taken to prevent a potential competitor from entering the market.
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 4-A allows for a defense if the act, agreement, partnership, association or contract gives rise to increased economic efficiency and is not detrimental to the consumer.
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Article 11(1) of the Act prohibits price fixing.
	Tying	1	Article 14(3) prohibits tying arrangements.
	Market Division	1	Article 11(3) prohibits market division.
	Output Restraint	1	Article 11(2) prohibits output restraint.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 14(1) prohibits market sharing.
	Eliminating Competitors	1	Article 14(7) prohibits predatory actions taken to squeeze a competitor out of a market.
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	1	Article 11(4) prohibits bid rigging.
	Supply Refusal	0
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 4-A allows for a defense if the act, agreement, partnership, association or contract gives rise to increased economic efficiency and is not detrimental to the consumer.