The Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency considered inadmissible the complaint of the “Suntrade”. The case concerned the abuse of a dominant position by "Bashkireti Soda Company", as well unfair competition (Articles 6 and 11³ of the Law of Georgia on Competition). . Furthermore, in the complaint, the complainant mentioned restrictive agreement (Article 7). According to the Agency’s decision, at the admissibility stage it was determined that there is no reasonable suspicion of a breach of the law, as there was no infringement of competition legislation in the circumstances described by the complainant. As a result, Agency considered it inappropriate to start an investigation.
The National Competition Agency approved the concentration between Ioseb Tatarashvili and LLC "Charm Trading", recognizing it as admissible concentration. The Agency evaluated the competitiveness of the relevant market by assessing both the level of imports and the wholesale and retail supply. According to the Agency's decision and based on the assessment, it was determined that the relevant market is low-concentrated and that the concentration would not significantly change the concentration index.
The Georgian National Competition Agency has established a violation of Article 7 (Restrictive agreements ) of the Law of Georgia on Competition in the online cinema ticket sales market. According to the decision of the National Competition Agency, the complainant (E-Tickets LLC) and the defendants (Tineti LLC and the unified economic entity "Didstribution Company") were fined more than 1.6 million GEL for anti-competition agreement. However, JSC TBC Bank and TBC Bank Group PLC were not found in violation of Article 7, and violation was not established against "Distribution Company" LLC. The National Competition Agency issued three recommendations to relevant entities to improve the market for online sales of tickets for cultural, entertainment, creative, sports, leisure and tourism, educational, transport and other types of events/products/services.
The National Competition Agency has completed the monitoring of the liquid and natural gas market for automobiles. The assessment covered various market levels such as import, wholesale, and retail. Based on the report, the market is highly competitive, with a substantial number of active undertakings and a low Herfindahl-Hirschman concentration assessment index. Therefore, the Agency has concluded that no further monitoring is required for the relevant market/markets.
The National Competition Agency has established a violation of Article 7 (concerted practices) of the Law of Georgia on Competition by four companies. These companies, namely Aversi, Gepha, PSP, and Mermis, have agreed on prices and price fixing within the state funding program for oncology medicines from 2021 to 2023 (including August). The National Competition Agency has imposed a fine of up to 53 million GEL on these companies.
The Agency approved the concentration between "Mnkorpi" LLC and "Lexwell" LLC. "Mnkorpi" produces ferroalloys, while "Lexveli" operates in the construction and development sector. After analyzing the market, the Agency determined, that the volume of turnover in the residential and non-residential building construction market in 2022 was 8,084,435,501 GEL, and the market concentration index (Herfindahl-Hirschman index) was 63.96, indicating a low-concentration market. Since "Mnkorpi" did not operate in the relevant market of construction of residential and non-residential buildings before the concentration, there will be no change in the concentration index (HHI) after the implementation of the concentration.
The Agency recognized as admissible the notification on the concentration to be implemented by "Repsol" LLC through gaining control over 4 gas stations owned by "IberCompany" LLC. The concentration refers to the retail market of autor fuel (gasoline, diesel). The volume of the retail market at the national level in 2022 amounted to 1,311,160 thousand liters, the number of companies operating in the retail market - 487, the number of gas stations operating in the retail market - 1,250, the market concentration index of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index HHI=949.7, which is an indicator of a low concentration market. As a result of concentration, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index is HHI=950.30, index change ΔHHI=0.56. Therefore, as a result of the planned concentration, there is no significant change in the concentration index in the relevant market.
In November 2023, the National Competition Agency completed an investigation based on a complaint filed on March 7, 2023 by „Tsereteli Mexican“ LLC. The investigation confirmed that LLC "Mexican Hot Dog on Tsereteli" and LLC "Mexican on Tsereteli N1" violated Article 113 of the Law of Georgia on Competition. According to the Agency's decision, the mentioned company was imposed a financial sanction and ordered to eliminate the violation of the law.
The Georgian National Competition Agency terminated the investigation based on the complaint of "Tbilisi Tobacco", which was concerned with the possible violation of Articles 6 and 7 of the Georgian Law on Competition by the companies operating in the field of filtered and unfiltered cigarettes. In particular, the complainant refused the complaint based on the written statement submitted to the Agency on September 16, 2023. In the statement it is indicated, that from the beginning of the investigation of the case till present, according to the observation of the complainant, a market, condition provides the opportunity for healthy competition, which is the result of the investigation by the Agency.
The Georgian National Competition Agency has approved the planned concentration in the medical inpatient and outpatient services sector. The case concerns the purchase of a 50% share of "PSP Pharma" in "MedCapital" by GMSC Medical Services Company of Georgia. ”. According to the received and processed information, and the Article 11 of the Law of Georgia on Competition, the Agency determined that the planned concentration between the "GMSC Medical Services Company of Georgia" and "Medcapital" does not substantially limit effective competition and is compatible with the competitive environment.
