Client Update | Antitrust & Competition Major Competition Law Reform in Israel
Dear Clients and Friends,
Israeli Antitrust Authority has announced a Memorandum of Law to promote a major overhaul of Israeli competition laws.
The Proposed Amendment aims at reducing regulatory burdens. It increases the turnover threshold for mergers, so that fewer mergers will have to be filed, and abolishes the reporting obligation for non-substantial changes in restrictive arrangements which received a specific exemption. It also trims the review period for restrictive arrangements and aligns it with the review period for mergers.
The Proposed Amendment will have significant impact on merger reporting in Israel: in addition to the change in turnover thresholds, the Proposed Amendment allows the Antitrust Commissioner to extend decision deadlines; it broadens the definition of "company", subject to merger control, so as to subject corporate and non-corporate entities of all kinds to Israeli merger control, regardless of where they have been incorporated.
The Proposed Amendment will substantially change the definition of "monopoly" (dominant position), adding an economic, market power based test to the existing "technical" market share based test.
The Proposed Amendment will also shorten the timelines for the review of restrictive arrangements. It is complemented by a series of draft amendments to existing block exemptions, which will, essentially, reduce regulatory burden and establish a self-assessment regime with regard to a broader range of arrangements.
Finally, the Proposed Amendment will enhance the Authority's already considerable investigation and enforcement powers.
A Memorandum of Legislation with regard to the Proposed Amendment is available on the Authority's website. Comments from the public may be submitted until November 19, 2017.
