CCPC extends verticals declaration to March 2023
November 30, 2022
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has today extended the validity of its declaration in respect of vertical agreements and concerted practices (the “declaration”) until 1 March 2023. This extension will allow for public consultation on an updated declaration to take place in early 2023. The declaration originally came into effect on 1 December 2010 and was due to expire on 1 December 2022.
In general, the term “vertical agreement” means an agreement between two or more firms, operating at different levels of the production or distribution chain and relates to the conditions under which these firms buy or sell certain goods or services. Vertical agreements which restrict competition are prohibited under Section 4 of the Competition Act 2002, as amended (“the 2002 Act”). The 2002 Act permits the CCPC to declare in writing that a specified category of vertical agreements, decisions or concerted practices are not prohibited by Irish competition law.
The current CCPC declaration closely resembles the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER). As the European Commission (EC) adopted a new VBER earlier this year, the CCPC is now in the process of updating its declaration to reflect changes implemented by the EC to the VBER. The CCPC will hold a consultation in early 2023 to consider their updated declaration and will welcome the views of stakeholders as part of this process.
The current declaration has been extended to 1 March 2023 to facilitate this consultation process and to provide legal clarity and certainty to stakeholders during this transition period.
For more information read about the extended declaration.
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