Control of Concentrations (Amendment) Regulations, 2007

L.N. 49 of 2007

COMPETITION ACT

(CAP. 379)

Control of Concentrations (Amendment) Regulations, 2007

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 32 of the Competition

Act, the Minister for Competitiveness and Communications has made

the following regulations>-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Control of Title

commencement.

Concentrations (Amendment) Regulations, 2007 and they shall be read

and construed as one with the Control of Concentrations Regulations, L.N. 294 of 2002.

2002, hereinafter referred to as “the principal regulations”.

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the 13th

March, 2007.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amends

regulation 2 of

follows>-

the principal

regulations.

(a) in paragraph (d) thereof, in the definition “Concentration”,

for the paragraph containing the words from “whether within Malta”

to the words “exceeded Lm 750, 000>” there shall be substituted the

following>

“whether occurring in Malta or outside Malta when in

the preceding financial year the aggregate turnover in Malta of

of the undertakings concerned exceeded Lm1,000,000 and each

of the undertakings concerned had a turnover in Malta

equivalent to at least 10 percent of the combined aggregate

turnover of the undertakings concerned.

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amends

regulation 3 of

follows>-

the principal

regulations.

(a) in the proviso to sub-regulation (1) thereof, immediately

after the words “derived by” there shall be added the words “each

of” and immediately after the words “provision of services” there

shall be added the words “in Malta”< and

(b) in sub-regulation (2) thereof, for the words “Where the

concentration” there shall be substituted the words “By way of

derogation from sub-regulation (1) hereof, where the concentration”.

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be amended as

follows> -

For sub-regulation (3) thereof there shall be substituted the

following>

“(3) To the extent that the creation of a joint venture

constituting a concentration has as its object or effect the

coordination of the competitive behaviour of undertakings that

remain independent, such coordination shall be appraised in

accordance with the criteria of Article 5 of the Act with a view

to establishing the lawfulness of the operation under these

Regulations>”

Regulation 5 of the principal regulations shall be amended as

follows>-

(a) for sub-regulation (1) thereof there shall be substituted

the following>

“(1) Concentrations shall be notified to the Director prior

to their implementation and following the conclusion of the

agreement, the announcement of the public bid, or the

acquisition of a controlling interest, within 15 working days”<

(b) for sub-regulation (3) thereof there shall be substituted

the following>

“(3) A concentration shall not be deemed to have been

notified if the notification is not carried out in accordance with

the rules set out in the Schedule to these Regulations and if the

notification fee specified in the Schedule is not paid on

notification and in such a case the Director shall declare the

notification to be incomplete and hence invalid.”<

(c) sub-regulation (5) shall be renumbered as sub-regulation

(6) thereof< and

(d) immediately after sub-regulation (4) there shall be added

the following new sub-regulation>

“(5) The Director shall in any publication of the fact

of the notification state that third party objectors would have

the right to submit their objections in writing within seven

days from the publication of the fact of notification in the

Gazette and a daily newspaper, whichever is the earliest.”

In paragraph (i) of sub-regulation (1) of regulation 13 of the Amends

13 of the principal

principal regulations, immediately after the words “Regulation 5” there regulations.

shall be added the words “before implementation”.

Immediately after regulation 19 of the principal regulations there Adds new

regulation 20 to the

shall be added the following new regulation>-

principal

regulations.

“Interpretation.

In the interpretation of Regulation 4(4) and of

Regulation 4(2)(b) hereof, the Director shall have recourse

to -

(a) the Commission’s and his own previous

decisions<

(b) judgments of the Court of First Instance and

the Court of Justice of the European Community<

(c) relevant decisions of the European

Commission<

(d) interpretative Commission notices and

guidelines on the relevant provisions of the EC Treaty

and secondary legislation relative to competition< and

(e)

other pertinent foreign jurisprudence.”

8. The Schedule to the principal regulations shall be amended as Amends the

Schedule to the

follows>-

principal

regulations.

(a) in Section B thereof, in paragraph (d), immediately after

the words “received by the Director” there shall be added the words

“and the notification fee has been duly paid”<

(b) in Section E thereof, for the words “One original and

five copies of the Form CN” there shall be substituted the words

“One original and two copies of the Form CN”<

(c) immediately after Section H thereof there shall be added

the following new Section>

“I. Administrative Fee

A notification fee of Lm70.00 must be paid by the

notifying party or parties on submission of the duly completed

notification form.”<

(d) in Section 10 of the Schedule, the whole paragraph “c”

shall be deleted<

(e) in Section 11 of the Schedule, the words “11.1” and the

whole paragraph 11.2 shall be deleted< and

(f) immediately after Section 12, the full text and titles in the

Guidelines on Efficiencies, as relating to Regulation 4(4), and in the

Guidelines on Assessment of Failing Firms and Exiting Assets, as

relating to Regulation 4(2)(b), are hereby being repealed.

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press

Lm0.16 (€0.37)