Latest updates
ICA updates methodology for determining monetary penalties
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 19 December 2019
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.
Competition authority initiates wide-reaching reform of merger reporting regulations
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 15 August 2019
The Israel Competition Authority recently published a draft amendment to the Antitrust Regulations (Registry, Publication and Reporting of Transactions) for public consultation. The draft includes significant and far-reaching changes regarding the scope of the transactions that will require merger approval by the competition commissioner, as well as the extent of the disclosure that will be required when filing merger notifications.
Draft guidelines on competition law amendments published
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 30 May 2019
In January 2019 Parliament passed a comprehensive amendment to the Economic Competition Law 1988. Among other things, the amendment introduced an alternative definition of a 'monopoly' based on a market power test rather than market share and significantly increased the maximum cap for monetary administrative penalties which can be levied on corporations. To put the new rules into practice, the Israel Competition Authority recently published draft guidelines on both of these matters.
Major competition law reform comes into force
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 14 March 2019
Parliament recently passed an amendment to the Economic Competition Law that represents its most significant overhaul since its enactment in 1988. The amendment covers nearly all of the law's substantial chapters and affects the regulation of restrictive arrangements, the merger control regime, the regulation of monopolies and criminal and administrative enforcement measures.
Transition to self-assessment regime: ICA publishes amended block exemptions
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 24 January 2019
The Israel Competition Authority recently published amended versions of the Block Exemption for Ancillary Restraints in Mergers and the Block Exemption for Joint Ventures. The amended block exemptions intend to lower the regulatory burden imposed on businesses and enable the fast implementation of efficient arrangements by expanding the use of block exemptions.
Antitrust commissioner receives new powers to protect parallel imports
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 13 September 2018
In recent years, parallel and private imports have become an important factor in the public debate surrounding the cost of living in Israel. The level of competition (and ultimately prices) in many product markets is heavily dependent on imports. The recent amendment to the Restrictive Trade Practices Law aims to provide the antitrust commissioner with the authority to prevent conduct by official importers that may hinder competition from parallel and private imports.
Israel Antitrust Authority publishes new block exemption for joint loan agreements
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 23 August 2018
The Israel Antitrust Authority (IAA) recently published the Antitrust Rules (Joint Loans Block Exemption) 2018. The exemption deals with loans extended jointly by a number of financial institutions to a single business borrower and provides a more formal and broader framework than the IAA's previous policy of periodic public opinions, which exempted consortium arrangements from restrictive enforcement under certain conditions.
IAA publishes draft amendment to vertical arrangements block exemption
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 26 April 2018
The Israel Antitrust Authority recently published a draft amendment to the Vertical Block Exemption for public comment. The amendment aims to expand the substantive self-assessment of vertical arrangements and was published as a response to Supreme Court rulings which called for a more lenient approach to vertical arrangements and practitioner criticism of the current exemption. The amendment reflects a more general trend in Israeli antitrust law towards a substantive self-assessment regime.
Major overhaul of Restrictive Trade Practices Law proposed
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 23 November 2017
The Antitrust Authority recently published a draft amendment to the Restrictive Trade Practices Law for public comment. The amendment proposes a broad reform of the law as regards restrictive arrangements, monopolies and mergers. According to the authority, the amendment aims to decrease the existing regulatory burden that applies to legitimate and efficient practices and strengthen anti-competitive enforcement.
Setback for private enforcement against alleged international cartels
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 14 September 2017
The Supreme Court recently confirmed that Regulation 500(7) of the Civil Procedure Regulations, which concerns court approval for service outside Israel, is not met where the alleged act or omission occurred outside Israel and only the anti-competitive effects are alleged to have taken place in Israel. The court further ruled that the effects doctrine – the governing doctrine for applying local antitrust law to foreign conduct – pertains only to the substantive applicability of such law to foreign conduct.
IAA steps up enforcement of financial sanctions
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 08 June 2017
The antitrust commissioner recently announced her intention to impose unprecedented financial sanctions on several monopolies and market leaders in Israel, as well as some of their senior officers. These announcements indicate that the use of financial sanctions to combat the abuse of a dominant position will likely play a key role in the Israel Antitrust Authority's agenda for the coming years.
IAA publishes draft guidelines on resale price maintenance
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 02 March 2017
The Israel Antitrust Authority recently published draft guidelines on resale price maintenance arrangements, following a Supreme Court decision that fundamentally changed the legal standard applicable to vertical arrangements. The draft guidelines survey the main concerns arising from resale price maintenance arrangements, the competition benefits that they may produce and the general methodology that should be used to analyse such arrangements.
IAA publishes new draft guidelines on excessive pricing
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 01 December 2016
The Israel Antitrust Authority (IAA) recently concluded its initial re-evaluation of its policy on the prohibition on excessive pricing by monopolies and published draft guidelines on the factors that it will consider in enforcing the prohibition. The draft guidelines structure the IAA's decision-making process in enforcing the excessive pricing prohibition and are expected to reduce significantly the number of cases in which the IAA will take action on the grounds of excessive pricing.
Antitrust authority publishes draft guidelines on calculation of financial sanctions
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 01 September 2016
The Israel Antitrust Authority (IAA) recently published draft guidelines on the factors that the IAA commissioner will consider when determining the financial sanction to be imposed on antitrust violators. The draft guidelines aim to structure the commissioner's decision-making process when determining financial sanctions while considering the specific circumstances of each case and offer a quantitative methodology in this regard.
Antitrust authority re-evaluates policy on excessive pricing
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 02 June 2016
The Israel Antitrust Authority (IAA) recently announced a public hearing and formal re-evaluation of the merits, enforceability and effectiveness of its policy regarding the prohibition on excessive pricing by monopolies. The announcement may result in a major overhaul of the IAA's policy regarding excessive pricing and the annulment of major portions of its guidelines on the issue.
Antitrust Authority targets roll-back discounts
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 17 March 2016
The antitrust commissioner recently imposed a $2.3 million fine on Ashdod Port for providing retroactive discounts to vehicle importers that used its facilities. Discounting practices are generally welcome, but when undertaken by monopolies, some discounting schemes may contravene antitrust laws. Dominant firms are advised to check their pricing practices to avoid potential liability.
Misleading patent office as abuse of dominant position
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 07 January 2016
The Central District Court recently rendered a precedential decision in a claim brought by an Israeli manufacturer and distributor of generic pharmaceuticals against a multinational innovator pharmaceutical company. The decision dealt with challenges faced by the innovator pharmaceutical company in its attempts to prevent or delay the entrance of generic drugs into the market and raises questions regarding the interface between IP law and antitrust law.
Supreme Court renders milestone decision on vertical arrangements
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 24 September 2015
The Supreme Court recently issued a landmark ruling in an appeal of the lower court's conviction of a large retail chain for breach of merger conditions and attempting to engage in a restrictive arrangement. In its analysis of the arrangement under review, the court outlined a new legal approach towards vertical arrangements, overturning a longstanding and highly criticised precedent.
Monopoly restrictions proposed on businesses with less than 50% market share
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 02 July 2015
The Israel Antitrust Authority recently published a memorandum that proposes the application of monopoly restrictions on businesses that hold a market share of less than 50% if they possess significant market power. A second recent memorandum aims to reduce barriers to imports by restricting the ability of an official importer to abuse its power and diminish competition from parallel imports.
Antitrust authority proposes reform of merger control and removal of import barriers
Tadmor Levy & Co- Competition & Antitrust
- Israel
- 16 April 2015
The Israeli Antitrust Authority recently proposed significant reform of the merger control regime in an attempt to expand the application of merger controls in some respects, while decreasing the number of mergers that are subject to compulsory filing. The authority has also called for the imposition of special duties that are applicable only to monopolies and authorised distributors.
