Our services are aimed at avoiding any sanction that may arise from acts that threaten free competition, mainly due to price fixing or commercial agreements, abuse of a dominant position in the market, among others. We design compliance programs and answer any questions about this matter to our clients.
Sanctioning administrative procedure (PAS for its acronym in Spanish) on anticompetitive conduct:
It is the procedure in charge of the Technical Secretariat and the Commission for the Defense of Free Competition (CLC for its acronym in Spanish) of INDECOPI, aimed at sanctioning behaviors of abuse of dominant position, horizontal collusive practices and vertical collusive practices, in accordance with what is established by the Law for the Repression of Anticompetitive Conduct (Legislative Decree 1033), in order to promote economic efficiency in the markets for the welfare of consumers.
The PAS on anti-competitive conduct is always initiated ex officio, either at the initiative of the Technical Secretariat of the Commission for the Defense of Free Competition or by complaint by a party.
Before the issuance of the resolution on the admission of a complaint by a party, the Technical Secretariat may carry out preliminary actions in order to gather information or identify reasonable indications of the existence of anti-competitive conduct.
After verifying compliance with the corresponding requirements, the Technical Secretariat will issue the resolution on admission for processing.
The defendant or defendants may answer the charges filed within a period of thirty business days, presenting the arguments they deem appropriate and offering the corresponding evidence. During this period, third parties with a legitimate interest may appear in person at the procedure, expressing the arguments and offering the relevant evidence, after fulfilling the requirements to file a complaint by a party.
Before or during the PAS, the CLC may issue, at the request of the Technical Secretariat or at the request of a party, a precautionary measure intended to ensure the effectiveness of the final decision. If the precautionary measure is granted before the sanctioning procedure begins, it will expire if it is not initiated within fifteen business days following its notification.
The CLC has a period of thirty business days, extendable only once and for the same period, to accept or reject the requests of a party. The presentation of civil insurance measures such as injunction or similar is not required.
Likewise, ex officio or at the request of a party, the precautionary measures may be suspended, modified or revoked.
After the trial period, the Technical Secretariat has a maximum period of thirty business days to issue its Technical Report.
If no evidence of the existence of an anticompetitive conduct is found, the Technical Secretariat will propose to the CLC the declaration of non-existence of administrative infraction.
The Technical Report will be notified to the parties to the procedure, who will have a period of fifteen business days to formulate allegations and submit briefs requesting the use of the floor before the CLC.
Exceptionally, the CLC will order the performance of additional evidence if, in its opinion, they are pertinent for the clarification of the reported facts.
The CLC will have a term of thirty business days, counted from the expiration of the term that the parties have to present final arguments, to issue its pronouncement.
The final resolution of the CLC can be appealed by the accused, by the party who filed the complaint and by third parties with a legitimate interest who have attended the procedure before the Specialized Chamber for the Defense of Competition, within a period of fifteen business days. . The Technical Secretariat may appeal the resolution that exonerates those investigated, as well as the fine imposed.