Pursuant to Section 92 of the Competition Ordinance, the Commission may apply to the Competition Tribunal for a pecuniary penalty to be imposed on any person it has reasonable cause to believe has contravened a competition rule or has been involved in a contravention of a competition rule (Note 1).
The Policy on Recommended Pecuniary Penalties sets out a 4-step approach to the formulation of recommended pecuniary penalties for undertakings and associations of undertakings (Note 2):
- Step 1 – Determining the base amount
- Step 2 – Making adjustments for aggravating, mitigating and other factors
- Step 3 – Applying the statutory cap
- Step 4 – Applying any cooperation reduction
Note 1: It is ultimately for the Competition Tribunal to determine the penalty amount that is appropriate. This Policy does not bind the Tribunal.
Note 2: The Commission will generally apply the methodology set out in this Policy when determining a pecuniary penalty recommendation for undertakings and associations of undertakings but may depart from it according to the particularities of each case.