J. Sroczyński for WuW No. 6/2009 – OCCP’s guidelines for leniency applications

On February 24, 2009, the Polish competition regulator, OCCP, has issued a set of procedural guidelines for leniency applications. The guidelines do not constitute a formal body of law but are rather an instruction for undertakings and supplement to the amended leniency regulation.

The new opportunity has been opened for undertakings, to submit initial, “marker” applications, whereby only a limited scope of information must be provided upfront to the OCCP. This information includes the names of colluding undertakings, the relevant products, territories, time of the collusion, and illegal goals such as fixing prices or dividing markets. In addition, the applicants should inform whether a parallel application was submitted to the Commission or regulators in other Member States. Valid submission of a marker application will ensure that the undertaking receives the required priority, provided that the missing information is submitted to the OCCP in due course.

The guidelines contain detailed information how the applications should be technically submitted to the OCCP; traditional, postal delivery is not recommended. Special hotline is available to all those who want to seek specific procedural advise.

The new guidelines can be particularly useful for undertakings submitting leniency applications to the Commission. If the collusion affects the territories of at least three Member States, it has now become possible to submit a summary application in Poland, in order to safeguard “the place in the queue”. The requirements of summary applications are similar to those introduced for marker applications but the applicant should also mention the Member States where cartel evidence can be found and inform in which other Member States leniency applications are submitted. Importantly, summary applications should include also the usual “cease-and-desist” and “no-initiator/no-instigator” statements.

J. Sroczyński, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb. Developments in national competition law, No. 6/2009.