NEWSLETTER-2017

109 COMPETITION LAW Board provided that in terms of the undertakings which are subject to pricing regulation, excessive pricing should not be regarded as abuse. It could be concluded that the Board was not in favor of analyzing excessive pricing for regulated markets. It is clear that the Turkish competition authority finds excessive pricing as a type of abuse. However, it embraced different levels con- sidering regulated markets and the presence of a monopoly. Recently, the Board initiated an investigation following its pre- liminary inquiry against Sahibinden Bilgi Teknolojileri Pazarlama ve Ticareti A.Ş (“Sahibinden”) engaged in e-commerce on the grounds that it abused its dominant position through excessive pricing. This decision would be the first in which the Board would evaluate exces- sive pricing in the e-commerce sector. Conclusion Excessive pricing, which is a price consistently above the com- petitive level, is considered as an abuse under both Article 102(a) of the TFEU and Article 6 of the Act. Both the Commission and the Board seek for either a monopoly or an entrenched dominant position to assess excessive pricing. It is also clear that the Board is reluctant to evaluate pricing allegations in regulated markets. The two new investigations against Aspen and Sahibinden will show the Commission’s and the Board’s points of view on excessive pricing in unique sectors, such as the pharmaceutical industry and e- commerce sectors.