LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

of December 12, 2013 No. 94-Z

About counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition

This Law determines the organizational and legal basis of counteraction of monopolistic activities and unfair competition and is aimed at providing conditions for development of the competition, creation and effective functioning of the goods markets.

Chapter 1. General provisions

Article 1. The main terms used in this Law and their determinations

For the purposes of this Law the following main terms and their determinations are used:

the vertical agreement – the agreement between business entities, one of whom acquires goods or intends to acquire it, and another provides goods or is his potential seller;

interchangeable (similar) goods – in such a way that the consumer replaces or one goods are ready to replace with another goods which can be comparable on their functional purpose, application, quality and technical characteristics, the price (rate) and other parameters in case of consumption, including in case of consumption in the production purposes;

state bodies – National Bank, Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, National academy of Sciences of Belarus, other state bodies and the state organizations, the subordinate Republic of Belarus (accountable) to the President, the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, republican state bodies and other organizations subordinated to Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, the local executive and administrative organs, other organizations performing functions of the specified bodies, and also the temporary or permanent interdepartmental forming consisting of representatives of state bodies which acts of the legislation are given separate state powers of authority;

discrimination conditions – conditions of access to the goods market, and also conditions of production (production), exchange, consumption, acquisition, sale, other transfer of goods under which the business entity or several business entities are put in unequal position in comparison with other business entity or other business entities taking into account conditions, the restrictions and features established by international treaties of the Republic of Belarus;

purchase of goods – purchase of goods on competitive basis in which accept or two and more participant, including purchase of goods when implementing public procurements (except for procurement procedures from one source), purchases at the expense of own means can take part (except for procurement procedures from one source);

competitors are the business entities performing the sale and (or) purchase of goods in one goods market and also intending to perform sale and (or) purchase of goods in one goods market;

the competition – competitiveness of business entities in case of which independent actions of each of them exclude or limited opportunity unilaterally to influence general terms of the goods circulation in the corresponding goods market;

monopolistic activities – abuse of business entity, group of persons of the dominant position, the conclusion of agreements or making of coordinated actions, and also making of other actions (failure to act) directed to non-admission, restriction or elimination of the competition and prohibited by this Law and other acts of the antitrust law;

unfair competition – the actions of business entity directed to acquisition of benefits (benefits) in business activity or several business entities who contradict this Law and can cause to other acts of the antitrust law or requirements of conscientiousness and rationality or caused losses to other competitors or can do or did harm to their goodwill;

the consumer – the physical person or legal entity intending to order, acquire or use goods or ordering, acquiring or using goods if in the latter case goods, including the component of other goods, is subject of the made or made civil transactions;

the seller – the business entity alienating goods or intending to perform its alienation;

the agreement – the arrangement in written or electronic form containing in the document or several documents and also the arrangement in oral form;

goods – all types of objects of the civil laws, including works, services, including financial services, held for sale, exchange or other introduction in civil circulation;

the goods market – the sphere of the address of the goods which do not have substitutes, or interchangeable (similar) goods in the territory of the Republic of Belarus or its part, determined proceeding from economic, technical or other capability of the consumer or feasibility of purchase of goods in the corresponding territory and lack of this opportunity or feasibility beyond its limits;

the procurement participant of goods – the legal entity, including state body, or physical person, including the individual entrepreneur who are taking part or intending to take part in purchases of goods as the seller;

business entity – the commercial organization, the non-profit organization performing the activities which are bringing in it the income, the individual entrepreneur, and also other physical person which is not registered as the individual entrepreneur, but performing the professional activity which is bringing in it the income which according to the legislation is subject to licensing;

the price (rate) – monetary value of cost of commodity unit, including any allowances (discounts, markups), surcharges, and also the rent, remuneration;

economic concentration – transactions with shares (shares in authorized fund), property of the commercial organizations, the rights concerning the commercial organizations, other actions, including creation and reorganization of business entities – legal entities whose making exerts or can exert impact on competitive situation.

Article 2. Legal regulation of the relations in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition

1. The relations in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition are regulated by the antitrust law, and also the international treaties of the Republic of Belarus and other international legal acts containing obligations of the Republic of Belarus.

2. The antitrust law is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and consists of the Civil code of the Republic of Belarus, this Law and other acts of the legislation.

3. If the international treaty of the Republic of Belarus establishes other rules, than those which are provided by this Law then are applied rules of the international treaty.

4. Features of legal regulation of the relations regulated by this Law can be established by the president of the Republic of Belarus.

Article 3. Coverage of this Law

1. Regulations of this Law extend to the relations connected with protection and development of the competition, including to the prevention and suppression of monopolistic activities and unfair competition in which legal entities of the Republic of Belarus, foreign and international legal entities participate (the organizations, not being legal entities), state bodies, their officials, and also physical persons, including individual entrepreneurs.

2. Regulations of this Law are applied to the relations in the goods markets where goods are objects is limited transferable if other is not established by legal acts.

3. Regulations of this Law are applied also in the following cases:

3.1. making by business entities, officials of business entities – legal entities, state bodies, their officials, the legal entities who are not belonging to business entities their officials, physical persons who are not belonging to business entities, actions (failure to act) outside the territory of the Republic of Belarus who bring or can lead to non-admission, restriction or elimination of the competition in the goods markets of the Republic of Belarus;

3.2. making outside the territory of the Republic of Belarus of the actions determined by this Law as economic concentration which exert or can exert impact on activities of the business entities registered in the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

4. Regulations of this Law are applied to subjects of natural monopolies taking into account the features established by the legislation on natural monopolies.

Regulations of this Law are applied to the subject of the state monopoly in full if other is not established by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

The state monopoly in part two of this Item is understood as system of the public relations in case of which the exclusive right on implementation of separate types of activity, including entrepreneurial, has the state on behalf of the separate state bodies or business entities who are specially authorized by legal acts.

5. Regulations of this Law are applied to the relations arising in connection with implementation of public procurements in the territory of the Republic of Belarus in case of violation of anti-monopoly requirements to purchases of the goods established by regulations of this Law.

6. Regulations of this Law do not extend to the relations settled by general competition rules in the cross-border markets, control of which observance is within the competence of the Eurasian economic commission according to the international treaty of the Republic of Belarus. Criteria of reference of the market to cross-border are established according to the international treaty of the Republic of Belarus.

Article 4. Subjects of state policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition

1. State policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition is determined by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

2. The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus provides carrying out state policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition.

3. The authorized republican state body in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition (further – antimonopoly authority) pursues state policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition.

4. Other state bodies within the competence promote carrying out state policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition.

Article 5. The basic principles of state policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition

State policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition is based on the following basic principles:

applications of the antitrust law equally and on equal terms irrespective of pattern of ownership, legal form and place of registration of legal entities, nationality, the residence (the place of stay), property and official capacity of physical persons and other circumstances (the principle of equality in application of regulations of the antitrust law);

prohibition on the acts and actions (failure to act) of state bodies, their officials (the principle of inadmissibility of anti-competitive actions (failure to act) of state bodies) which are not allowing, limiting or eliminating the competition;

ensuring effective control behind observance of the antitrust law, including behind transactions, other actions recognized by economic concentration in that measure in what it is necessary for protection and development of the competition (the principle of ensuring effective control behind economic concentration);

availability of the effective sanctions for making of the actions (failure to act) which are not allowing, limiting or eliminating the competition, applied proceeding from proportionality, security, inevitability and definiteness of the made decisions and ensuring control of their application (the principle of efficiency of sanctions for making of anti-competitive actions (failure to act));

ensuring information openness of the state policy pursued by antimonopoly authority in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition, including by means of placement of information on the activities in mass media, on the official site on the global computer Internet (the principle of information openness);

implementation of interaction of antimonopoly authority with other state bodies, authorized bodies of foreign states in that measure in what it is necessary for carrying out effective state policy in the field of counteraction of monopolistic activities and development of the competition (the principle of effective cooperation).

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