Changes in the competition law: the GVH’s toolbox is expanded, the administrative burden of companies is reduced

The Economic Competition Office (GVH) can use a new tool to help businesses comply with the law voluntarily

As of January 1, 2023, the Hungarian Competition Act has changed on several points. The amendments give the president of the competition authority a new opportunity to explain the concerns of the authority to the concerned companies in a preventive manner in some cases in the event of a suspected violation of the law. The notice letter – so-called as a “soft law” tool – based on the principle of gradation, it can help companies review and modify objectionable market behavior, providing a flexible opportunity to voluntarily remedy suspected competition problems, thus avoiding the time and burdens associated with the competition supervision procedure on the part of both the authority and the businesses.

Certain detailed rules and thresholds for merger control have also changed. The amendments – which were subject to a public consultation in the summer of 2022 – are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the procedures and reducing the administrative burden. In this way, the (partially unchanged for 17 years) revenue thresholds for notification were revised and increased. Based on the modified threshold numbers, it is expected that 10-15% fewer transactions will have to be reported to the GVH in the future, which will greatly contribute to reducing the administrative burden of domestic enterprises.