Orders introduced with effect from January 1997 have imposed a new fee of IR£4,000 for the review of Mergers Notifications under the Mergers Act. Separately, the fee for review by the Competition Authority of notifications has been increased from IR£100 to IR£250.

The imposition of fees for review of notifications under the Mergers Acts appears somewhat unfair given that on an annual basis a significant number (approximately 57% in the most recent year for which figures are available) of notifications are made but rejected as a result of ambiguity in the text of the Mergers Acts. While it is understood that the fee may not be imposed where a notification arises as a result of ambiguity in the Mergers Acts it would have been preferable for the Minister to suspend the imposition of fees until after the forthcoming review of the Mergers Acts has been completed.

"DAWN RAIDS"

The first "dawn raid" carried out by the Competition Authority's authorised officers was conducted at the end of 1996 at the Dublin offices of Opel Ireland. The recently appointed Director of Competition Enforcement, Mr. Pat Massey, who is responsible for the operation of the investigatory and enforcement powers conferred on the Authority by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 1996 was one of the authorised officers who conducted the investigation. It appears that the investigation arose as a result of a complaint, made by a solicitor on behalf of a client, in relation to pricing arrangements conducted by Opel in Ireland.

It is understood that because Opel modified the pricing arrangements complained of, the Authority ended the investigation. However, the complaint and subsequent investigation illustrates the increased powers of the Authority under the 1996 Act and the efficacy of making complaints to the Authority which has the power to investigate the subject matter of the complaints.

While the Authority's powers to carry out "dawn raid" investigations were introduced in the Competition Act, 1991, the 1996 Act permits the Authority to carry out investigations on the Authority's own initiative. The Opel "dawn raid" was the first carried out by the Authority and it can be expected that the Authority will use its investigatory powers more regularly following its success. Our firm's briefing notes on "dawn raids" and on the Competition (Amendment) Act, 1996 can be obtained from Ken Casey.

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