Spanish Competition Act introduces expected changes on procedural deadlines and the CNMC’s role in the implementation of the DMA

This summer the Spanish Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 came into force introducing some amendments to the Spanish Competition Act (Law 15/2007 or "LDC"). These amendments are predominantly procedural in nature, and some of them were already pending from previous reforms, particularly upon the transposition of the ECN+ Directive (for further information, our article on the transposition of the Directive is available here).

The main changes that have been introduced into the LDC are the following:

• The modification of certain deadlines in the administrative proceedings before the Spanish Competition Authority ("CNMC"):
  • In relation to disciplinary proceedings, the term for submitting observations to the statement of objections and the proposal for a decision has been extended from 15 working days to one month. Also, the maximum term for issuing a final decision has been extended from 18 months to 24 months, starting from the formal opening of the proceedings.
  • As regards merger control procedures:
    • The CNMC now has a maximum period of 15 days for issuing a decision regarding merger transactions notified by means of a short form, provided that a confidential version of the draft notification form has been provided to the Directorate for Competition;
    • The maximum period for issuing a decision on Phase II has now been extended from two to three months, while the maximum term for issuing a decision on Phase I merger procedures continues to be one month; and
    • A term of one month has been established for issuing a decision concerning prior consultations with the CNMC aiming to determine if a given transaction constitutes a merger or meets the thresholds for notification.

• The Spanish Competition Act now incorporates the powers of the CNMC according to the DMA (Regulation (EU) No. 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector), as well as regulates to a greater extent coordination and collaboration with the European Commission and other national competition authorities (e.g., support and assistance in dawn raids; exchanges of information, etc.). 

Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 was published in the Official Spanish Gazette on June 29, 2023, and came into force the following day. Therefore, the above-mentioned amendments will be applicable to all proceedings initiated by the CNMC on or after June 30, 2023.

Although these amendments bring significant modifications on time limits for CNMC proceedings in Spain, other more substantive changes expected to reinforce the CNMC’s investigation and sanctioning powers, were however left out of this reform, inter alia: i) increasing the maximum limit of fines for infringing individuals from EUR 60,000 to 400,000; and ii) introducing a settlement procedure before the CNMC, similar to the practice of the European Commission. Therefore, we cannot exclude the possibility that further amendments will be incorporated to the LDC in the near future.

For more information, please contact Candela Sotés.

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