Global Competition Law is primarly a practitioner's guide presenting the most salient aspects of the major competition laws country by country, giving an overview of their structure and most charasteristic elements.
Global Competition Law also provides insight into possible future developments in the field.

Global Competition Law

Before 2006, undertakings had to notify their agreements to qualify for an individual exemption. In compliance with European law, the 2006 LPCE Act removed the obligation to notify. Since then, Belgian undertakings must assess their agreements with regard to competition law and can automatically benefit from an exemption if they fulfill all the conditions thereof. Pursuant to the combined provisio …

Exemptions

Section IV.1 of the CDE is almost identical to Article 101 TFEU. It establishes a prohibition against all agreements between undertakings, all decisions by associations of undertakings and all concerted practices, the aim or consequence of which is to prevent, restrict or distort significantly competition in the Belgian market concerned or in a substantial part of that market. Thus, restrictions of competition that are considered de minimis do not come within the prohibition. However, being an SME is not enough to escape the ambit of the competition rules. Therefore, on July 2016, the Competition Authority published guidelines on competition rules and compliance programs especially designed for SMEs.

On December 2016, the Competition Authority also published guidelines on bid-rigging in the context of public procurement which provide useful advice on how to prevent or identify such practices.

Finally, guidelines on information exchanges within associations of undertakings were adopted on 1 October 2019.

According to Section IV.1 § 2, any agreement or decision prohibited pursuant to this article is automatically void.

The prohibition

Before 2006, undertakings had to notify their agreements to qualify for an individual exemption. In compliance with European law, the 2006 LPCE Act removed the obligation to notify. Since then, Belgian undertakings must assess their agreements with regard to competition law and can automatically benefit from an exemption if they fulfill all the conditions thereof. Pursuant to the combined provisions of Sections IV.1 § 3 and IV.4 of the CDE, the prohibition does not apply if the conditions of Section IV.1 § 3 or the conditions of Article 101(3) TFEU are met.

For an individual exemption to be granted, according to Section IV.1 § 3 the following test must be satisfied:

- the practice must contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods or to promoting technical or economic progress or enable small and medium-sized undertakings to assert their competitive position in the market concerned or internationally; 

- consumers must receive a fair share of the resulting benefit;

- the practice must not involve the imposition of restrictions that are not indispensable to the attainment of the objectives;

- the practice must not allow the undertakings the possibility of eliminating competition in respect of a substantial part of the products in question.

Section IV.4 provides that the prohibition does not apply to agreements for which Article 101(3) TFEU has been declared applicable by a regulation of the EU Council or an EU Commission decision.

This is also the case for agreements, decisions of associations of undertakings and concerted practices which do not affect trade between Member States or which do not restrict, prevent or distort competition in the internal market and which would have been protected by a regulation within the meaning of the first clause, if they had affected such trade or restricted, prevented or distorted this competition.

Lastly, the final paragraph of Section IV.4 lays down that certain categories of restrictive agreement may be exempted by royal decree pursuant to Section IV.5.

Global Competition Law

33. Exemptions

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Les notions juridiques connexes

33. Exemptions

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise