As per the latest development the Government of the Republic of Georgia is Going to make some changes to the Competition law of the country. These changes will take effect from January 1, 2024.
According to the new changes effective enforcement of competition policy will be strengthened. Additionally technical details and terms will be clarified and the name of the agency has also been changed.
The Parliament of Georgia has made changes on the recommendation of the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee of Georgia.
As per the new changes the new name of the agency will be “Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency. The other main and important changes that have been implemented are as follows:
• During an on-the-spot inspection by the agency and its agent, failure to allow the authorized persons on the spot for the inspection process will result in fining the economic agent. In particular, the economic agent will be fined the amount of 10,000 GEL, and in case of repetition the fine will be – 20,000 GEL.
•At the same time in some extreme conditions relevant representatives of different law enforcement or expert agencies may participate in the on-site inspection process.
• As per the other change, the annual turnover notice in the law has been replaced by the term “joint income” which corresponds to the definition in the tax code of Georgia.
. According to the other approved changes the deadline for filing a complaint is limited and this will only be possible until the party receives a draft decision in this regard.
•After receiving the notification about the concentration generation the working period of 5 days increased to 10 working days. Also, a natural person, who is obliged to notify the concentration and violates this obligation in this regard will be fined with a maximum of 10,000 GEL.
•Another important Change in the Law on Competition has introduced guarantees of the identity of the person/persons participating in the cooperation program and the confidentiality of the data provided by them.
It is specifically to be mentioned that the changes were prepared in the context of the EU-financed TWINNING project and in the light of the agency’s practice experience.
The representative of the competition agency said that the agency is always determined to make a healthy environment for Competition. Healthy competition is regarded as a good sign for the economy. Moreover, healty competition also makes the quality of products and services more reliable and efficient.
