The Competition Law governs administrative fines applicable for companies that infringe the provisions of the Competition Law. Under Article 16 of the Competition Law, a cartel practice is subject to a fine of up to 10% of the infringing company’s turnover (annual gross revenue) generated in the financial year preceding the Authority’s decision.
It is worth emphasizing that the existing regulation under the Competition Law is not clear on whether the annual gross revenue (turnover) means the total annual gross revenue or the annual gross revenue generated in the relevant market where the infringement has occurred (i.e. Turkey). Although there is no regulation limiting the turnover with the Turkish geographical market under the Competition Law, the Turkish Competition Board (“Board“), for the purposes of fine calculation, usually takes the turnover generated in the “relevant market in Turkey“ into consideration.
That said, the Competition Law also states, “If it is not possible to calculate the turnover generated by the end of the financial year preceding the date of decision, then the turnover generated by the end of the financial year closest to the date of the decision will be taken into account“.
Despite EU legislation which states that ”the annual gross revenue which was generated during the last full business year of its participation in the infringement” should be taken into consideration, the Competition Law does not explicitly states whether ”the closest financial year to be taken into consideration” refers to the ‘last full business year of the infringer of its participation in the infringement’.