25 March 2015​

 

 

 
The Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) has opened proceedings, this march, against an undertaking operating within the transports sector for not providing information or for providing false, inaccurate or incomplete information in response to a request of the PCA, under its sanctioning powers, having issued, in the context of these proceedings, a Statement of Objections.

The supply by the undertakings, following PCA’s requests, of all the available information in an accurate, precise and complete form is crucial to the full execution of the PCA’s sanctioning and supervisory powers.

In this regard, the supply by an undertaking, whether intentionally or negligently, of any information that is deemed to be misleading or incomplete in any way in addition to generating obstacles to the investigation, can also allow the occultation of competition problems within the market at stake, damaging companies and consumers.

If the PCA concludes that an undertaking has provided, intentionally or negligently, information that was false, inaccurate or incomplete, it may impose a fine up to 1% of the undertaking’s turnover of the year immediately preceding the final decision issued by the PCA.

The PCA underlines the fact that a Statement of Objections does not determine the final outcome of the administrative proceedings, meaning only that the undertaking is given the opportunity to exercise its right to defense in relation to the infringements at stake and to the sanction or sanctions that may be imposed.
In the last semester, this is the second case for not providing information or for providing false, inaccurate or incomplete information in which the PCA has issued a Statement of Objections, the first also being related to the transports sector.