The Israeli Competition Authority recently published a draft public statement regarding the submission of joint bids by competitors in tenders. The draft proposes an interpretation of the Competition Law that may significantly affect the business activities of entities operating in Israeli tender markets. Foreign entities that consider participating in bids in Israel as part of a group should be aware that they may need to obtain the competition commissioner's prior approval.
The Competition Tribunal's recent judgment thoroughly analysed the legality of target discounts offered by a dominant firm to its customers. The tribunal adopted a cautious approach towards retroactive target discounts, ruling that such pricing schemes could be condemned even if an equally efficient competitor was not excluded by the target discount and the level of market foreclosure was limited.
The attorney general (AG) recently submitted his opinion regarding the applicability of the excessive pricing prohibition under Israeli law and the appropriate test for its application. Adopting the Israeli Competition Authority's current opinion regarding excessive pricing while opposing the broad approach taken by the court in the Central Bottling Company case, the AG maintained that the Supreme Court should determine that the Competition Law prohibits monopolists from setting unfairly high prices.
The Israeli Competition Authority recently published several clarifications regarding the application of the Economic Competition Law 5748-1988 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The clarifications refer to three main issues – namely, collaboration arrangements between competitors, gun-jumping rules in merger cases and postponement of reports required under the Law for the Advancement of Competition in the Food Sector 2014.
In February 2019 the Israel Competition Authority (ICA) published for public consultation a draft amendment to Public Statement 1/16: Considerations of the Competition Commissioner in Determining the Amount of a Monetary Penalty. Following public comments on the draft amendment, the ICA has now published a final amended statement. As such, the ICA's new methodology for imposing monetary penalties has taken full effect.