Determining circumstances when the President of UOKiK may conclude the proceedings by way of conciliation. Specifying conditions where commitments of undertaking to change the prohibited practice can be accepted. More on commitment decisions in the special document by UOKiK

Prohibited practices of undertakings negatively affect the economy and act to the detriment of consumers. UOKiK, acting in the public interest, conducts proceedings and issues decisions ordering to change the contested practices. Moreover, many of them are concluded with financial sanctions. In case of competition restricting practices or practices violating collective consumer interests, the President of UOKiK may issue the so-called commitment decision. This means that commitments made by the undertaking, whose fulfillment results in eliminating the prohibited practices and their effects, are accepted. Dealing the case this way is beneficial to undertakings as it entails their full immunity from fine. The commitment always coresponds to the alleged infringement. It is a faster and cheaper solution both for the public interest and the wrongdoer alike. More and more frequently undertakings themselves commit to change the questioned practice. Last year every third decision issued in antimonopoly cases and violating collective consumer interests represented this type of legal solution. Facing market expectations, UOKiK has drawn up Clarifications on issuing the commitment decision in cases of competition restricting practices and practices infringing collective consumer interests.

Step one – who?

Commitment to discontinue the prohibited practice is made by an undertaking. This may concern both the applied practices and these already ceased prior to or in the course of proceedings conducted by the Office. When analysing each case, the President of UOKiK decides on concluding a case by way of conciliation, which results in consequence, in issuance of the commitment decision.

Step two – when?

The undertaking should undertake a commitment right after instituting the administrative proceedings. It must occur before the Office takes actions in order to collect evidence, and is aimed at limiting the time of conducted proceedings. The declaration submitted by the undertaking at more advanced stages of the proceedings may take place only in exceptional situations.

Step three – how?

A commitment should be formulated in a clear and precise way. Then reasoning the application for issuing a commitment decision, the undertaking should indicate in what way the implementation of the commitment will lead to the elimination of a practice or its effects. The commitment cannot be limited only to the general declaration expressed by the underatking that they will not apply prohibited practices in the future. And it should be direcly linked to the contested practice. For example, if the undertaking applies a prohibited contract clause, the commitment should consist in the elimination of the alleged clause from the agreement, or its change. Furhtermore, in the event the undertaking applied several practices simultaneously, then when making the commitment, they should specify them seperately, with reference to each practice.

Step four - sanctions

The undertaking must fulfil its commitments in the specified time limit. The Office fixes this deadline taking into consideration the possibilities of a given entity, the type of practice and how urgent it is to eliminate this practice. Moreover, the Office determines the schedule and type of information to be provided as regards the stage of implementation of imposed commitments. If the undertaking fails to fulfil the commitment decision, the Office can overrule it or impose a fine of a maximum of EUR 10 thousand for each day of delay in implementing the decision.

Step five - assistance

The Clarifications are not legally binding, however, the President of UOKiK will apply them to safeguard transparent and homogenous rules. We encourage all undertakings considering this form of collaboration with the Office to obtain detailed information from departments or branch offices involved in conducting proceedings. At the same time, we would like to remind you that the website www.uokik.gov.pl contains the up-to-date base of decisions issued by the President of UOKiK. It is a source of information on decisions which have been issued so far and sets examples of concluding proceedings by way of conciliation.

Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Phone: +48 22 55 60 106
Fax: +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]