Activity Report 2017
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REPUBLIC OF SERBIA COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF COMPETITION ACTIVITY REPORT 2017 BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 2 2. MISSION AND VISION ........................................................................ 1 2.1. Mission .................................................................................................................... 1 2.2. Vision ...................................................................................................................... 1 2.3. Improving the business environment and consumer well-being ............................. 2 2.4. Operational transparency ........................................................................................ 3 3. INSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY ........................ 4 3.1. Institutional capacity ............................................................................................... 4 3.2. Administrative capacity .......................................................................................... 4 3.3. Business premises of the Commission .................................................................... 6 3.4. Additional education of personnel in 2017 ............................................................. 6 4. FINANCING OF THE COMMISSION .................................................. 10 4.1. Financial result for 2017 ....................................................................................... 10 4.2. Revenues ............................................................................................................... 10 4.2.1. Revenues from issuing acts from the Commission’s competence ..................... 11 4.3. Expenditures.......................................................................................................... 12 4.3.1. Excess of revenue over expenditure ................................................................... 14 4.4. Payments to the Budget of the Republic of Serbia ............................................... 16 5. ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION IN THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS 18 5.1. Relations with the European Union ...................................................................... 18 5.2. Assuming commitments from the Stabilization and Association Agreement and cooperation with EU institutions ....................................................................... 18 5.3. EC Progress Report on Serbia – Chapter 8: Competition policy .......................... 19 5.4. Regulatory compliance with the EU acquis communautaire ................................ 19 6. COMPETITION INFRINGEMENTS .................................................... 23 6.1. Competition infringement proceedings ................................................................. 24 6.1.1. Cases closed in administrative procedure ........................................................... 25 6.1.2. Pending administrative proceedings, as on Dec 31, 2017 .................................. 29 6.1.3. Monitoring the fulfillment of commitments from the conclusions on suspended proceedings......................................................................................................... 34 6.2. Individual exemptions of restrictive agreements from the prohibition ................. 36 6.2.1. Closed proceedings on individual exemptions of restrictive agreements from the prohibition, as on Dec 31, 2017 ......................................................................... 37 6.2.2. Pending proceedings on individual exemption, as on Dec 31, 2017 .................. 44 6.3. Initiatives instituting proceedings for establishing the infringement of competition and other manners of detecting infringements ................................................... 45 6.3.1. Processed initiatives – proceedings instituted ex officio .................................... 47 6.3.2. Processed initiatives – closed without instituting proceedings ex officio ........... 49 6.3.3. Pending initiatives, as on Dec 31, 2017 ............................................................. 52 6.4. Decisions of the Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation ....... 53 6.4.1. Decisions of the Administrative Court in 2017 .................................................. 53 6.4.2. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Cassation in 2017 ....................................... 54 6.4.3. Pending proceedings before the Administrative Court, as on Dec 31, 2017 ...... 54 6.4.4. Pending proceedings before the Constitutional Court, as on Dec 31, 2017 ....... 55 7. INVESTIGATION OF CONCENTRATIONS ......................................... 56 7.1. Concentrations approved in summary procedure .................................................. 62 7.2. Notified concentrations decided in proceedings ex officio ................................... 75 7.3. Monitoring the fulfilment of stipulated conditions from the conditionally approved concentrations .................................................................................... 76 7.4. Investigating concentrations implemented without the Commission’s approval . 80 8. OPINIONS .......................................................................................... 84 8.1. Opinions on regulatory proposals and regulations in force affecting the market competition ........................................................................................................ 84 8.2. Opinions on the implementation of the provisions of the Law relating to concentrations .................................................................................................... 90 8.3. Opinions on the implementation of regulations relating to competition infringements ..................................................................................................... 93 8.4. Opinions on reports of regulatory authorities ..................................................... 101 8.5. Opinions under the provisions of the Law on Bankruptcy ................................. 104 9. SECTOR INQUIRIES ........................................................................ 106 9.1. The role and relevance of economic analyses in acting on cases ....................... 106 9.2. Sector and competition conditions inquiries ....................................................... 106 9.2.1. Sector inquiry into the oil derivatives retail market in 2016 ............................ 107 9.2.2. Competition conditions inquiry into the software and computer equipment market ............................................................................................................... 108 9.2.3. Competition conditions inquiry into the raspberry purchase and export market ............................................................................................................... 110 9.2.4. Competition conditions inquiry into the sports footwear, clothing and equipment market ............................................................................................................... 111 9.2.5. Competition conditions inquiry into the tire market ........................................ 112 9.2.6. Sector market inquiry into the retail sale in non-specialized stores with food, beverages and tobacco predominating ............................................................. 112 10. COOPERATION WITH REGULATORS, STATE AUTHORITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS, UNIVERSITIES AND CIVIL SECTOR .................... 114 10.1. Agreements with regulators and state authorities and their respective implementation ................................................................................................ 114 10.2. Protocols on cooperation with universities in the Republic of Serbia and their respective implementation ............................................................................... 116 10.3. Participation of the Commission’s representatives in the work of the Commission for State Aid Control .................................................................. 117 10.4. Participation of the Commission’s representatives at conferences, seminars and round tables in the country ............................................................................... 118 11. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ................................................ 121 11.1. Assistance projects provided to the Commission ............................................. 121 11.2. Relations with international organizations ........................................................ 122 11.3. Bilateral cooperation ......................................................................................... 125 11.4. Meetings with representatives of the diplomatic corps and foreign business associations ...................................................................................................... 130 11.5. International conferences and seminars ............................................................ 131 12. RAISING AWARENESS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPETITION BY MEANS OF PUBLIC ADVOCACY ..................................................... 133 12.1. Awareness building activities of the Commission as regards the business and expert public .................................................................................................... 135 12.2. Awareness building activities of the Commission as regards the media .......... 136 12.3. The Commission’s acting under the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance ...........................................................................................