SAIC enacts three new provisions supporting the Anti-monopoly Law

On 31 December, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) promulgated the Industry and Commerce Administrative Organs Prohibition of Monopoly Agreements Provisions, the Industry and Commerce Administrative Organs Prohibition of Abuse of Market Dominance Provisions and the Industry and Commerce Administrative Organs Termination of the Abuse of Executive Power to Eliminate or Restrict Competition Provisions. These three sets of substantive provisions supporting the PRC Anti-monopoly Law came into force on 1 February. The provisions are outlined below, with the numbers of the sections of the PRC Anti-monopoly Law to which they relate.

The Prohibition of Monopoly Agreements Provisions

The concept of monopoly agreements, section 13(2). What the section calls “monopoly agreements or decisions” may be either written or oral; “other concerted action” refers to instances where in fact there is coordinated action even though the business operators have not explicitly entered into a written or oral agreement or decision.

Horizontal monopoly agreements among business operators, section 13(2). Apart from subsection (a), “fixing or changing the prices of goods”, which falls under the category of price fixing and is thus not within the jurisdiction of the industry and commerce organs, the provisions set out detailed rules regarding four types of monopolistic behaviour – limiting the production volume or sales volume of goods, dividing up the sales market or the raw materials procurement market, limiting the purchase of new technology or new equipment or limiting the development of new technologies and new products, and jointly refusing to trade.

Business Law Digest is compiled with the assistance of Haiwen & Partners. The authors can be emailed at baochen@haiwen-law.com. Readers should not act on this information without seeking professional legal advice.