Armenian parliament amends law to toughen punishment of monopolies for abuse of their dominating position
12.04.2011,
22:24
The Armenian parliament has passed today in the second reading a set of changes to the Law on Economic Competition that set tougher punishment of monopolies for abuse of their dominating position.
YEREVAN, April 12, /ARKA/. The Armenian parliament has passed today in the second reading a set of changes to the Law on Economic Competition that set tougher punishment of monopolies for abuse of their dominating position.
Artak Shaboyan, the chairman of the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC), said the proposed changes would allow SCPEC to quickly and easily detect violations in the markets. He said they would also strengthen the mechanisms to combat these abuses. According to him, once the proposed changes are enacted a new methodology would be applied to determine economic entities with dominant position in the market. The new methodology would take into account not only the monopolies’ share in the commodity markets, but also their market value and their impact on other market participants.
One of the proposed changes allows the government to intervene and set price caps on a number of foods if their prices rise by 30% within one month. The caps would be effective within 90 days.
The opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) party urged parliament fellows yesterday to delay voting on this draft law until next parliament session scheduled for May 2-5. MP Artsvik Minasain from the ARF faction argued that not all members of the parliament realized well the entire significance of the proposed changes. He said they are very serious changes and their consequences may have serious repercussions for businesses. -0-
Artak Shaboyan, the chairman of the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC), said the proposed changes would allow SCPEC to quickly and easily detect violations in the markets. He said they would also strengthen the mechanisms to combat these abuses. According to him, once the proposed changes are enacted a new methodology would be applied to determine economic entities with dominant position in the market. The new methodology would take into account not only the monopolies’ share in the commodity markets, but also their market value and their impact on other market participants.
One of the proposed changes allows the government to intervene and set price caps on a number of foods if their prices rise by 30% within one month. The caps would be effective within 90 days.
The opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) party urged parliament fellows yesterday to delay voting on this draft law until next parliament session scheduled for May 2-5. MP Artsvik Minasain from the ARF faction argued that not all members of the parliament realized well the entire significance of the proposed changes. He said they are very serious changes and their consequences may have serious repercussions for businesses. -0-
