The Hungarian government is poised to make a new push against firms engaged in anti-competitive behavior, including significant changes to the laws governing unfair trading, as well as the public procurement law, cabinet spokesman Dávid Daróczi said.
According to Privátbankár.hu, among the proposed changes would be a provision giving the Competition Office (GVH) the power to “ban” those guilty of cartel behavior for two years, and to levy a daily fine of Ft 200,000 (roughly €800) on companies that fail to report a merger.
The government also wants to modify competition legislation to put the onus on companies suspected of cartel behavior to prove their innocence in civil courts.
Meanwhile, companies that admit to having engaged in anti-competitive behavior during the course of an investigation could be indemnified from sanctions, while penalties would be actively publicized.