Penalties Report
This report seeks to codify penalties for violation of competition laws from around the globe. Where possible, the competition law, itself, is the source for information penalties. In some circumstances, secondary sources (e.g., competition authority reports) were used to determine how a nation punishes infringements of its competition laws.
Imprisonment is only coded when it is a punishment for violation of anticompetitive practices. Imprisonment for failure to cooperate with competition authority proceedings or failure to pay fines was not included in this report.
| Country | Fines | Jail | Comment
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Y | N | Art. 73-78 discuss fines.
Maximum one-time fine can be as much as 10% of "the total turnover of the preceding business year of each of the undertakings participating in the infringement" of the Act. Periodic penalties can also be imposed, "... periodic penalty payments not exceeding 5% of the average daily turnover in the preceding business year which is calculated from the date the decision has been taken ..." |
| Algeria | Y | N | Articles 56-62 of the Algerian Competition Statute discuss fines.[1]
The statute provides for fines of up to 7% of annual sales or of up to 3,000,000 dinars. The Commission has recommended a fine of 350,000 FF upon a firm abusing its dominant position,[2] |
| Argentina | Y | N | Article 46(b) imposes fines.
Fines range from 15,000 to 150,000,000 pesos. |
| Armenia | Y | N | Art. 36 imposes fines.
Abuse of a dominant position leads to a fine of up to 5000 times the baseline duty. Mergers resulting in abuses of dominant positions lead to fines of up to 4000 times the baseline duty. Failure to submit materials to the competition commission leads to fines up to 100 times the baseline duty. |
| Australia | Y | Y | TRADE PRACTICES ACT 1974 - SECT 76[3]
Corporations can be fined up to $10,000,000 per infraction. Individuals can be fined up to $500,000 per infraction. Failure to pay fines or cooperate with the enforcement agency can lead to imprisonment.[4] |
| Austria | Y | Y | Fines can be imposed "up to a maximum amount of 10% of the gross income against an entrepreneur or an entrepreneur combination, a that or a those, obtained in the preceeding financial year, deliberately or negligently ..."[5]
Collusive tendering constitutes a criminal offence under section 168b Criminal Code and is punishable by imprisonment of up to three years. |
| Azerbaijan | Y | N | Article 17[6]
Maximum fine data could not be found. Also, could not find any cases of the competition authority (Department on Antimonopoly Policy of MED of the Republic of Azerbaijan) imposing any fines. |
| Barbados | Y | Y | Sections 15 and 20 of the Fair Competition Act provide for fines.[7]
Fines for individuals can reach $150K. Fines for corporate entities can reach $500K or 10% of turnover. Section 43 of the Fair Competition Act provides for prison sentences. The Act provides for prison sentences of up to six months. |
| Belarus | Y | N | The comptetition authority can impose fines.[8] |
| Belgium | Y | N | "The Council may impose on each of the undertakings concerned fines not exceeding 10 % of their turnover determined in accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 46. The Council may also, by the same decision, impose penalty payments for noncompliance with its decision on a daily basis of maximum BEF 250,000 per undertaking concerned."[9] |
| Bolivia | ? | ? | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Y | N | Individuals or firms can be fined "at most 10 (ten)% of value of its total annual income earned in the financial year preceding the year when the infringement is committed." Additionally, fines can range from "15.000 KM to 50.000 KM."[10] |
| Brazil | Y | N | Brazil uses Fiscal Reference Units (UFIR)
Companies are liable for, "a fine from one to thirty percent of the gross pretax revenue thereof as of the latest financial year, which fine shall by no means be lower than the advantage obtained from the underlying violation." Individuals are liable for, "a fine from ten to fifty percent of the fine imposed on said company, which shall be personally and exclusively imposed on the manager." If these cannot be calculated, companies and individuals are liable for 6,000 to 6,000,000 UFIR in fines. Moreover, "Fines imposed on recurring violations shall be doubled."[11] If the individual or firm does not discontinue the illegal activity, they will be fined 5,000 UFIR daily - and this can be multiplied up to 20X.[12] |
| Bulgaria | Y | N | Fines for companies range from BGN 5,000 to 300,000. If infractions continue, fines move-up to BGN 100,000 to 500,000. Failure to comply with a decision of the competition authority results in a fine of BGN 100,000 to 500,000.[13]
Fines for individuals range from BGN 1,000 to 10,000. If infractions continue, fines move-up to BGN 2,000 to 20,000.[14] |
| Burkina Faso | Y | Y | Articles 53-65 of Loi 15/94 du 5 mai 1994 discuss penalties[15]
The statute provides for fines of up to 25,000,000 CFA francs and prison sentences of up to 2 years for competition violations. |
| Cameroon | Y | N | Article 27 of Cameroon's competition statute discusses fines.[16]
Competition violations may result in fines of up to 50% of a firm's Cameroon profits or 20% of its turnover. |
| Canada | Y | Y | Numerous articles of the Competition Act,[17] including §79(3)(1), §47, and §45(1), provide for fines.
The fines for conspiracies can reach $10 million. The fines for abusive monopolies can reach $15 million. Numerous articles of the Competition Act,[18] including §47, §61(9), and §45(1), provide for prison sentences. Violations can result in prison sentences of up to 5 years. |
| Chile | ? | ? | |
| China | Y | N | Articles 46-49 of the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China discuss fines[19]
Fines for competition violations can reach 10% of the previous year's sales revenue. |
| Colombia | Y | N | Articles 55-58 of the competition statute discuss fines[20]
The statute provides for fines of between 100-150% of a corporate violator's ill-gotten gains, or penalties of 100,000 monthly minimum wages. For culpable individuals, the fines can reach 2000 times the monthly wage. |
| Costa Rica | ? | ? | |
| Cote d'Ivoire | ? | ? | |
| Croatia | ? | ? | |
| Cyprus | ? | ? | |
| Czech Republic | Y | N | Article 22 governs the impositions of fines. The Office for the Protection of Competition may impose fines "up to CZK 10,000,000 or up to 10% of the net turnover achieved in the last expired accounting period."[21] |
| Denmark | ? | ? | |
| El Salvador | ? | ? | |
| Estonia | ? | ? | |
| Faroe Island[22] | Y | N | Part 8, Article 31.1 of the Competition Act provides for the imposition of fines.[23]
The statute provides for the imposition of fines for competition violations. Additionally, Article 31.4 provides for confiscation of gains stemming from violations. |
| Fiji | ? | ? | |
| Finland | ? | ? | |
| France | Y | Y | Article 420-6 of the French Commercial Code[24] discusses competition penalties.
The statute provides for fines of up to 75,000 Euros and prison sentences of up to 4 years for competition violations. Article 430-8 of the Commercial Code[25] discusses penalties for unauthorized mergers. The statute provides for fines to corporations of up to 5% of annual turnover, and for fines to individuals of up to 1.5 million Euros. |
| Georgia | ? | ? | |
| Germany | ? | ? | |
| Hong Kong [26] | ? | ? | |
| Honduras | Y | N | Article 37 and following deal with imposing fines.[27] |
| Hungary | ? | ? | |
| Iceland | ? | ? | |
| India | ? | ? | |
| Indonesia | ? | ? | |
| Ireland | ? | ? | |
| Israel | ? | ? | |
| Italy | Y | N | Law no. 287/90 allows fines for violations.[28]
Section 14-bis allows fines if interim measures are ordered but companies fail to comply. Section 14-ter permits fines if ccompanies fail to keep commitments they have made to rectify anti-competitive conduct. Section 15 allows fines of up to 10% of annual turnover for failure to remedy violations, depending on the gravity and duration of the infringement. Section 19 imposes fines of up to 10% of annual turnover for failure to comply with prohibitions on concentrations or the merger notification requirement. |
| Jersey, Channel Islands | ? | ? | |
| Jamaica | ? | ? | |
| Japan | ? | ? | |
| Jordan | ? | ? | |
| Kazakhstan | Y | N | Article 38 of the statute discusses penalties.[29]
The statute permits fines up to the amount of the gain from monopoly. |
| Kenya | ? | ? | |
| Kyrgyzstan | ? | ? | |
| Laos | ? | ? | |
| Latvia | ? | ? | |
| Lithuania | ? | ? | |
| Luxembourg | ? | ? | |
| Macedonia | Y | N | Articles 8-9 of the 2007 competition statute amendment[30] discuss penalties.
The statute permits fines of up to 20,000 Euros or 10% of the company's annual income for serious violations. |
| Malawi | ? | ? | |
| Mali | ? | ? | |
| Malta | Y | N | Article 21 of Malta's competition law discusses fines.[31]
The statute provides for fines of up to 10% of annual corporate turnover for competition violations. |
| Mauritius | ? | ? | |
| Mexico | ? | ? | |
| Moldova | ? | ? | |
| Mongolia | Y | N | Article 18 of the statute discusses fines.[32]
Competition violators face fines of up to 2.5 million togrogs (corporations)and up to 60,000 togrogs for officials. |
| Montenegro | ? | ? | |
| Namibia | ? | ? | |
| Netherlands | ? | ? | |
| New Zealand | y | N | Sections 80-Section 89[33] of the Commerce Act discuss penalties.
Section 80 allows courts to impose fines up to the greater of $10M, or triple the profits accruing from the violation (if this can't be determined, 10% of corporate turnover). |
| Nigeria | ? | ? | |
| Norway | ? | ? | |
| Pakistan | ? | ? | |
| Panama | Y | N | Article 112 provides for fines imposed by the government of up to 1 million Balboas. Article 27 provides for treble damages and costs in civil actions.[34] |
| Papua New Guinea | ? | ? |
|
| Peru | ? | ? | |
| Philippines | ? | ? | |
| Poland | ? | ? | |
| Portugal | ? | ? | |
| Romania | ? | ? | |
| Russia | Y | N | Federal Law No. 25-FZ discusses fines.[35]
Chapter 14 of the statute provides for fines for corporations of up to 2% of annual corporate proceeds for competition violations. It also provides for fines for corporate officials.
|
| Saudi Arabia | Y | N | Articles 12-16 of the statute discuss penalties.
There is a fine of up to 5 million riyals for competition violations. Daily fines of up to 10,000 riyals may also accrue for violations.[36] |
| Senegal | ? | ? | |
| Serbia | Y | N | Articles 71 and 72 of the 2005 Law on Protection of Competition[37] discuss penalties.
The statute allow for fines of up to 10% of annual corporate income for serious violations. |
| Slovak Republic | ? | ? | |
| Slovenia | Y | N | Articles 52-53 of the Prevention of the Restriction of Competition Act discuss penalties[38]
The statute provides for a penalty of up to 90,000,000 SIT for corporate entities and up to SIT 3,000,000 for responsible individuals. |
| South Africa | Y | Y | Articles 59 and 74 of the statute discuss penalties.[39]
Article 59 of the statute allows for fines of up to 10% of annual corporate turnover. Article 74 allows for fines of up to 500,000 Rand or 10 years imprisonment for engaging in prohibited conduct in violation of a Commission order, and lesser penalties for other infractions. |
| South Korea | Y | Y | Articles 6 and 22 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act provide for fines, as do articles 66 and 67.[40]
Under Article 6, fines for abuse of dominance can reach up to 3% of turnover, or 1 billion won. Under Article 22, fines for restrictive agreements can reach 10% of turnover, or 2 billion won. Articles 66-67 provide for fines of up to 200 million won for individuals. Articles 66-67 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act provide for jail time for competition offenses. Under Articles 66 and 67, competition violations can result in prison sentences of up to 3 years. |
| Spain | ? | ? | |
| Sri Lanka | ? | ? | |
| Sweden | ? | ? | |
| Switzerland | ? | ? | |
| Syria | Y | N | Article 23 of the Law on Competition and Prevention of Monopoly [41]discusses fines.
The statute provides for fines of up to 10% of corporate turnover for competition violations. |
| Taiwan | ? | ? | |
| Tajikistan | ? | ? | |
| Tanzania | ? | ? | |
| Thailand | ? | ? | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Y | N | Article 44 of the Fair Trading Act, 2006 discusses fines.[42]
Violators of the act face fines of up to 10% of annual corporate turnover. |
| Tunisia | ? | ? | |
| Turkey | ? | ? | |
| United Arab Emirates | N | N | |
| Ukraine | ? | ? | |
| United Kingdom | Y | Y | Article 190 of the Enterprise Act of 2002[43] and Article 36 of the Competition Act of 1998[44] provide for fines
The amount of the fines in the Enterprise Act are not specified, nor are the fines in the Competition Act. Article 190 of the Enterprise Act of 2002 provides for prison sentences[45] The statute provides for imprisonment of up to 5 years for cartel activities. |
| United States | Y | Y | Sections 1 & 2 of the Sherman Act discuss penalties.[46]
The statute provides for fines of up to $10M for corporations, and $350K for individuals. It also provides for imprisonment of up to three years. |
| Uruguay | ? | ? | |
| Uzbekistan | ? | ? | |
| Venezuela | ? | ? | |
| Zambia | ? | ? | |
| Zimbabwe | Y | Y | Articles 29, 34A and 42 of the statute discuss penalties.[47]
Art. 42 provides for fines of up to $50K[48] and prison sentences of up to 2 years for specific competition violations. Article 34A provides for fines of up to 10% of domestic corporate turnover for unauthorized or prohibited mergers. |
- ↑ French text of the statute available at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTICE/EXTCOMPLEGALDB/0,,c
- ↑ UN report, http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/c2emd11.pdf
- ↑ http://scaleplus.law.gov.au/html/pasteact/0/115/0/PA004090.htm
- ↑ http://scaleplus.law.gov.au/cgi-bin/topicSrch.pl?action=View&VdkVgwKey=%2Fscale%2Fdata%2Fpasteact%2F0%2F115%2F0%2FPA004150%2Ehtm&DocOffset=1&DocsFound=23&QueryZip=%28%28imprisonment%29%29&SourceQueryZip=VdkVgwKey%3Ccontains%3E%2Fscale%2Fdata%2Fpasteact%2F0%2F115&SortField=Score&SortOrder=desc&ViewTemplate=scaleview%2Ehts&SearchUrl=http%3A%2F%2F152%2E91%2E38%2E100%2Fvtopic%2Evts%3Faction%3DSearch%26QueryZip%3D%2528%2528imprisonment%2529%2529%26SourceQueryZip%3DVdkVgwKey%253Ccontains%253E%252Fscale%252Fdata%252Fpasteact%252F0%252F115%26ResultMaxDocs%3D1000%26ResultTemplate%3Dscaleresults%252Ehts%26SourceQueryText%3DVdkVgwKey%253Ccontains%253E%252Fscale%252Fdata%252Fpasteact%252F0%252F115%26QueryText%3D%2528%2528imprisonment%2529%2529%26SortField%3DScore%26SortOrder%3Ddesc%26ViewTemplate%3Dscaleview%252Ehts%26ResultStart%3D1%26ResultCount%3D50
- ↑ Link to statute: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bwb.gv.at%2FBWB%2FGesetze%2FKartellgesetz%2Fdefault.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools (translated by Google)
- ↑ Link to statute: http://www.globalcompetitionforum.org/regions/asia/Azerbeijan/0526.pdf
- ↑ statute available at http://www.commerce.gov.bb/Legislation/Documents/Fair%20Competition%20Act,%20Cap%20326C.pdf
- ↑ See Article 16(1) of competition statute, http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/6e1a652fbefce34ac2256d910056d559/4dd2237ccbd3b4e6c2256dc1002932c6?OpenDocument
- ↑ See Article 36 of competition statute, http://www.globalcompetitionforum.org/regions/europe/Belgium/leg1.pdf
- ↑ See Article 48 of competition statute, http://www.bihkonk.gov.ba/en/laws/low_on_competition_new.pdf
- ↑ See Article 23 of the competition statute, http://www.globalcompetitionforum.org/regions/s_america/Brazil/Legisla%E7%E3o%20Antitruste%20em%20ingl%EAs.PDF
- ↑ See Id. at Article 25
- ↑ See Article 59 of competition statute, http://212.122.167.220/system/storage/zak_en_1_119.doc
- ↑ See Article 60 of competition statute, http://212.122.167.220/system/storage/zak_en_1_119.doc
- ↑ statute available online at http://www.artel.bf/Concurrence.html
- ↑ statute available at http://www.spm.gov.cm/showtexte.php?idtexte=156&lang=en
- ↑ Competition Act of 23 August 2000, available at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/C-34
- ↑ Competition Act of 23 August 2000, available at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/C-34
- ↑ the statute can be found at http://china.hktdc.com/content.aspx?data=CHINA_content_en&contentid=970099&src=CN_LawReg&w_sid=194&w_pid=630&w_nid=9927&w_cid=970099&w_idt=1900-01-01&w_oid=180&w_jid=
- ↑ the statute (in Spanish) is available at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTICE/EXTCOMPLEGALDB/0,,contentMDK:21081155~pagePK:2137398~piPK:64581526~theSitePK:2137348,00.html
- ↑ http://www.compet.cz/fileadmin/user_upload/Legislativa/legislativa_EN/Act_143_2004.doc
- ↑ The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory of Denmark whose citizens are not members of the EU
- ↑ The statute is available at http://www.kapping.fo/Sites/38/Files/The%20Competition%20Act.pdf
- ↑ English translation from Legifrance at http://195.83.177.9/code/liste.phtml?lang=uk&c=32&r=3096
- ↑ English translation available from Legifrance, at http://195.83.177.9/code/liste.phtml?lang=uk&c=32&r=3097
- ↑ Not a country
- ↑ In Spanish, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTICE/EXTCOMPLEGALDB/0,,contentMDK:21326341~pagePK:2137398~piPK:64581526~theSitePK:2137348,00.html
- ↑ http://www.agcm.it/AGCM_ENG/NORMATIV/E_NORMNA.NSF/b50758bf27025fecc125653d00467db4/d6cd09a87f1832b7802564a000533ce6?OpenDocument
- ↑ See statute http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTCOMPLEGALDB/Resources/CompetitivenesandMonopolyRestrictionLaw20060707_eng.pdf
- ↑ See articles 8-9 of competition statute, http://www.kzk.gov.mk/images/Law%20Amending%20the%20Law%20on%20Protection%20of%20Competition%20(Official%20Gazette%20of%20Republic%20of%20Macedonia%20no.22-07).pdf
- ↑ Statute from the Malta Ministry of Justice, at http://docs.justice.gov.mt/lom/legislation/english/leg/vol_10/chapt379.pdf
- ↑ Statute courtesy of the Mongolian government, at http://www.pmis.gov.mn/law/english/pdf/unfair_competition.pdf
- ↑ http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0005/latest/DLM89442.html#DLM89442
- ↑ in Spanish, at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTICE/EXTCOMPLEGALDB/0,,contentMDK:21081222~pagePK:2137398~piPK:64581526~theSitePK:2137348,00.html
- ↑ English translation of statute available at http://www.fas.gov.ru/english/legislation/12479.shtml
- ↑ link to statute: http://www.commerce.gov.sa/english/moci.aspx?Type=8&PageObjectId=731
- ↑ statute available from Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition, at http://www.kzk.org.yu/?link=96&lang=1
- ↑ Available online at http://www.uvk.gov.si/fileadmin/uvk.gov.si/pageuploads/ZPOmK__neuradno_precisceno_besedilo__-_ang.pdf
- ↑ statute available online at http://www.compcom.co.za/thelaw/ConsolidatedAct.doc
- ↑ Statute available from the Korea Free Trade Commission website, http://ftc.go.kr/data/hwp/(1)mrfta.doc
- ↑ law available in Arabic from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and The Syria Report, at http://www.syria-report.com/doc/Competition_and_Anti-Trust_Law.pdf - Google translate was used to translate the statute into English.
- ↑ http://www.ttparliament.org/bills/acts/2006/a2006-13.pdf
- ↑ Available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020040_en_17#pt6-pb1-l1g190
- ↑ http://www.globalcompetitionforum.org/regions/europe/UnitedKingdom/The%20Competition%20Act%201998.PDF
- ↑ Available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020040_en_17#pt6-pb1-l1g190
- ↑ The text of the statute can be found at http://www.globalcompetitionforum.org/regions/n_america/USA/us_saa.pdf
- ↑ http://www.globalcompetitionforum.org/regions/africa/Zimbabwe/Competition%20Act.pdf
- ↑ As of 2008, Zimbabwe was experiencing hyperinflation, which makes the value of the $50K fine comparable to about $1US. For more, visit http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/20/news/Zimbabwe-Money-Chaos.php