NEWSLETTER-2020-metin

172 NEWSLETTER 2020 On the other hand, the Cartel Regulation on Fines to Apply in Cases of Agreements, Concerted Practices and Decisions Limiting Competition, andAbuse of Dominant Position (“Regulation on Fines”) and the Leniency Regulation include the same definition of “cartels”. The relevant definition reads as the agreements restricting competition and / or concerted practices between competitors for fixing prices; al- location of customers, providers, territories or trade channels; restrict- ing the amount of supply or imposing quotas, and bid rigging. Furthermore, Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation Agreements states that information exchange among competitors is considered a cartel and fined as such if it shows the nature of an agreement with the object of fixing prices or quantities. Also exchanges of information which facilitate the operation of a cartel by enabling parties to moni- tor whether the participants comply with the agreed terms are also considered as part of the cartel. Apart from these definitions, the legislation does not define the conditions of a cartel behavior. The case law is instructive in that sense. Relevant Product and Geographic Market In line with the past Board decisions, the related product market is defined as the “ready mix concrete” market. The related geographic market is defined as “Yozgat City Center and Sorgun District.” No- tably, the Board explained that ready mix concrete is not a conve- nient product to stock, and the transportation of this material to far destinations, is not possible. Therefore, the determinant factor for the geographic market definition is the duration of time commencing after production. As a result, the Board considered approximately 50 km in distance from the ready mix concrete production facilities in order to determine the geographic market and concluded that Yozgat City Center and Sorgun District are the geographic markets for the infringement. Infringement The investigation commenced upon a complaint alleging the ready mix concrete producers in Yozgat, through cooperation, applied