The Communiqué on Practices that do not Significantly Restrict Competition Entered into Force

The Communiqué on Agreements, Concerted Practices, and Association of Undertakings’ Decisions and Practices that do not Significantly Restrict Competition (“Communiqué”) was published in the Official Gazette dated 16.03.2021 and numbered 31425. The Communiqué set the procedures and principles regarding the determination of agreements and practices which do not significantly restrict competition and may not be subjected to investigation accordingly. This paved the way for the practice of de minimis doctrine under Turkish competition law.

The general framework set by the Communiqué are summarized below:

• Apart from gross and clear infringements, if in any of the affected relevant markets, (i) the aggregate market share of competitors is below ten percent for agreements between competitor undertakings, (ii) the market share of each party is below fifteen percent for agreements between non-competing undertakings, then these agreements do not significantly reduce competition pursuant to the Communiqué.
• It is also regulated that if the aggregate market share of parties to the association of undertakings is below ten percent in any case, then the relevant decisions do not significantly reduce competition.
• Exceeding the determined thresholds shall not directly mean that the relevant agreement or decision restricts or significantly restricts competition in the market.
• Agreements and decisions which do not significantly restrict competition may not be subjected to an investigation by the Competition Board.

The Communiqué enters into force through publication and will apply to ongoing preliminary investigation and full-fledged investigation as of the date it entered into force.

You may access the full text of the Communiqué here