WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/LTU/I/1
4 October 2001
(01-4799)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
LITHUANIA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Law on Competition (1999:VIII-1099), as
notified by Lithuania under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/LTU/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriétéintellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
LITUANIE
Le présent document contient le texte
1 de la Loi sur la concurrence (1999:VIII-1099), notifié
par la Lituanie au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/LTU/1).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
LITUANIA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de competencia Nº VIII-1099
de 1999, que Lituania ha notificado de conformidad con lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63del Acuerdo (véase el documento IP/N/1/LTU/1).
                                                     
1 In English only.  The text in the original language is available for consultation by interested
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat./En anglais seulemen t.  Les délégations intéressées peuvent consulter le
texte dans sa langue d'origine, au Secrétariat de l'OM C./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas
podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en su idioma original.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 2
LAW
ON
COMPETITION
23 March 1999 No. VIII-1099
Vilnius
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
1. The purpose of this Law is to protect freedom of fair competition in the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The Law shall regulate the actions of the public and local authorities and undertakings, which
restrict or may restrict competition as well as actions of unfair competition, shall establish the rights,
duties and liabilities of the said institutions and undertakings and the legal basis for the control of
competition restriction and unfair competition in the Republic of Lithuania.
3. This Law seeks for the harmonisation of the Lithuanian and the European Union law regulating
competition relations.
Article 2. Application of the Law
1. This Law shall prohibit undertakings from performing actions which restrict or may restrict
competition, regardless of the character of their activity, except in cases where this Law or laws
governing individual areas of economic activity provide for exemptions and permit certain actions
prohibited under this Law.
2. This Law shall also be applicable to the activity of undertakings registered beyond the territory
of the Republic of Lithuania if said activity restricts competition in the domestic market of the
Republic of Lithuania.
3. This Law shall not be applicable to the activity of undertakings which restricts competition on
foreign markets, unless international agreements to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party provide
otherwise.
4. When international agreements ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania establish
different requirements to protect competition, th e provisions of the above agreements shall apply.
Article 3. Definitions
1. “Economic activity”  means any type of manufacturing, commercial, financial or professional
activity, associated with purchase or sale of goods, except for acquisitions by natural persons intended
for personal and household needs.
2. “Good” means any object of purchase or sale, including all kinds of services and works, rights
or securities. Purchase or sale represents transfer or acquisition of goods based on the contracts of
purchase, supply and other transactions. Articles (property) transferred under lease or loan-for-use
contracts shall be comparable to goods.
3. “Restriction of competition” means any actions which prevent competition in a relevant
market or may weaken, distort or otherw ise have a negative effect on competition.
4. “ Undertaking” means an enterprise, a combination of enterprises (associations,
amalgamations, consortiums, etc.), an institution or an organisation, or other legal or natural persons
which perform or may perform economic activity in the Republic of Lithuania or whose actions affect
or whose intentions, if realised, could affect economic activity in the Republic of Lithuania. Publicadministration and local authorities of the Republic of Lithuania shall be considered to be
undertakings if they engage in economic activity.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 3
5. “Relevant market” means the market of certain goods in a relevant geographic territory.
6. “Product market” means the aggregate of goods which from the  consumers’ point of view are
appropriate substitutes according to their characteristics, application and prices.
7. “Geographic territory (geographic market)” means the territory in which the conditions of
competition in a relevant product market are in essence similar to all undertakings and which, takinginto consideration said fact, may be distinguished from adjacent territories.
8. “Conditions of competition” means various economic parameters of purchase or sale, the
most important thereof being prices, discounts and markups or other payments as well as factors
affecting them (legal restrictions of economic activity, aid granted by public and local authorities,
production technologies and costs, peculiarities of the use and consumption of goods, transportation
possibilities, etc.).
9. “Competitors” means undertakings which face or may face mutual competition in the same
relevant market.
10. “ Agreement” means contracts concluded in any form (written or verbal) between two or
more undertakings or concerted actions of undertakings, including decision made by any combination
(association, amalgamation, consortium, etc.) of undertakings or by representatives of such a
combination.
11. “ Dominant position” means the position of one or more undertakings in the relevant market
directly facing no competition or enabling it to make unilateral decisive influence in such relevant
market by effectively restricting competition. Unless proved otherwise, the undertaking with the
market share of not less than 40% shall be considered to have a dominant position in the relevant
market. Unless proved otherwise, each of a group of three or a smaller number of undertakings withthe largest shares of the relevant market, jointly holding 70% or more of the relevant market shall be
considered to enjoy a dominant position.
12. “ Group of associated undertakings”  means two or more undertakings which, due to their
mutual control or interdependence and possible concerted actions are considered as one undertaking
when calculating joint income and market share. Unless proved otherwise, a group of associatedundertakings shall be deemed to be comprised of every undertaking concerned and:
1) of undertakings in which, as in the undertaking concerned, the shareholding of one and the
same natural person or the same natural persons accounts for more than 1/4 of the authorised  capital
or carries more than 1/4 of all the voting rights;
2) undertakings which are subject to joint management or have a joint administrative subdivision
with the undertaking concerned or a half or more of whose supervisory board, administrative board or
other management body members are also members of the management bodies of the undertakingconcerned;
3) undertakings in which the shareholding of the undertaking concerned accounts for more than
1/4 of the authorised capital or more than 1/4 of all the voting rights or which have a commitment to
co-ordinate decisions relating to their economic activity with the undertaking concerned, or those
undertakings the responsibility for the meeting of whose obligations to third parties has been assumedby the undertaking concerned, or those undertakings which have undertaken to transfer all or part of
their profit or have transferred the right to dispose of more than 1/4 of their assets to the undertaking
concerned;
4) undertakings whose shareholding in the undertaking concerned accounts for more than 1/4 of
the authorised capital or more than 1/4 all the voting rights, or with which the undertaking concernedhas committed itself to co-ordinate decisions relating to its economic activity, or which have assumed
the responsibility for meeting the obligations of the undertaking concerned to third parties, or those to
which the undertaking concerned has undertaken to transfer all or part of its profit or has granted the
right to dispose of more that 1/4 of its assets;
5) undertakings connected directly or indirectly through other undertakings with the undertakings
referred to in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of paragraph 12 hereof in any way specified in
subparagraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of paragraph 12 hereof.
13. “ Market share” means the proportion of total sales or purchase in the relevant market
accounted for by an undertaking or a group of associated undertakings.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 4
14. “ Concentration” means:
1) merger when one or more undertakings which terminate their activity as independent
undertakings are joined to the undertaking which continues its operations or when a new undertaking
is established out of two ore more undertakings which terminate their activity as independent
undertakings;
2) acquisition of control, when one and the same natural person or persons already controlling
one or more undertakings, or one or more undertakings, acting by contract, jointly set up a new
undertaking or gain control over another undertaking by acquiring an enterprise or a part thereof, all
or part of the assets of the undertaking, shares or other securities, voting rights, by contract or by any
other means.
15.”Control”  means any rights arising from laws or contracts that entitle a legal or natural  person
to exert a decisive influence on the activity of the undertaking, including:
1) ownership or the right to use all or part of the assets of the undertaking;
2) other rights which confer decisive influence on the decisions or the composition of the
undertaking’s managing bodies.
16. “ Controlling person”  means a legal or natural person having or acquiring control over an
undertaking. A controlling person may be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, a foreign national ora stateless person, or any other undertaking, as well as public and local authorities. Spouses and their
underage (adopted) children shall be considered as one controlling person. When two or more legal or
natural persons, acting under contract, exercise control over an undertaking which is subjected to
concentration, each of the legal or natural persons shall be considered a controlling person.
17. ” Decisive influence”  means the situation when the controlling person implements or is in the
position to implement its decisions regarding the economic activity or the decisions or composition of
the management bodies of the controlled undertaking.
18. “ Assets of an undertaking”  means the long-term tangible assets and other fixed assets used
in economic activity.
19. “ Commercial secret”  means technical, technological, commercial or organisational
information belonging to the undertaking and not disclosed publicly, the confidentiality of which is
protected by the undertaking, except for information that cannot be considered a commercial secret
under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 4. Duty of Public and Local Authorities to Ensure Freedom of Fair
Competition
1.When carrying out the assigned tasks related to the regulation of economic activity within the
Republic of Lithuania, public and local authorities shall ensure freedom of fair competition.
2. Public and local authorities shall be prohibited from adopting legal acts or other decisions
which grant privileges to or discriminate against any individual undertakings or their groups and
which bring about or may bring about differences in the conditions of competition for competitors in
the relevant market, except where the difference in the conditions of competition cannot be avoidedwhen the requirements of the laws of the Republic of Lithuania are complied with.
Chapter II
RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES
Section I
PROHIBITED AGREEMENTS
Article 5. Prohibition of Agreements Restricting Competition
1. All agreements which have as their object the restriction of competition or which may restrict
competition shall be prohibited and shall be void from the moment of conclusion thereof, including:
1) agreements to directly or indirectly fix prices of certain goods or other conditions of sale or
purchase;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 5
2) agreements to share the product market on a territorial basis, according to groups of buyers,
suppliers or in any other way;
3) agreements to fix production or sale volumes for certain goods, as well as to restrict technical
development or investment;
4) agreements to apply dissimilar (discriminatin g) conditions to equivalent transactions with
individual undertakings, thereby placin g them at a competitive disadvantage;
5) agreements to make conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by the other parties of
supplementary obligations which, by their commercial nature or according to usage, have no direct
connection with the subject of the contract;
6) agreement between competitors to participate or  not to participate, or to submit co-ordinated
bids for public procurement contract, for tender or other procurement of a similar type.
2. When concluded between competitors, the agreements listed in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of
paragraph 1 hereof shall be in any case considered as restricting competition.
3. The prohibition provided for in subparagraph 6 of paragraph 1 hereof shall not be applied, if a
bid is officially submitted for the award of public procurement contract, for a tender or other similar
purchase, drawn up on the basis of a joint activity contract or other contract which does not contradict
the law.
4. Agreements concluded between undertakings possessing a small share of the relevant market,
which because of their small influence cannot substantially restrict competition shall not be
considered to be in breach of paragraphs 1 and 2 hereof. The requirements and conditions of such
agreements shall be laid down by the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter
referred to as the Competition Council) by a legislative deed.
5. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 hereof shall not be applicable in the cases provided for in
Articles 7 and 8 of this Law.
Article 6. Exemptions
1. Block or individual exemption may be granted to the agreements specified in Article 5 of this
Law, provided the agreement promotes investment, technical or economic progress or improves the
distribution of goods, thus allowing all cons umers to get additional benefit, also when:
1) the agreement does not impose restrictions on the activity of the parties thereto which are not
indispensable to the attainment of the objectives referred to in this Article;
2) the agreement does not afford contracting parties the possibility to restrict competition in a
large relevant market share.
Article 7. Block Exemption
1. Taking into consideration the requirements of Article 6 of this Law, the Competition Council
shall adopt legal acts on the granting of a block exemption with respect to certain categories of
agreements and shall establish terms of application of the block exemption:
1) for agreements on licenses to use trade marks of goods and services, industrial design or other
objects of intellectual property which may cause restrictions of production, sale, prices of certain
goods or some other competition restrictions, if this is related to the protection of the rights to usetrade marks, industrial design or other objects of intellectual property or to the requirements of the
technical terms of licenses;
2) for agreements which are allowed in certain relevant markets;
3) for other specific categories of agreements, for which general exemption is granted pursuant to
the legal provisions in effect in the European Union.
2. All undertakings shall have the right to conclude contracts which qualify for the granting and
application of a block exemption.
3. Undertakings shall have the right to apply to the Competition Council for the confirmation that
the intended agreement qualifies for a block exemption. If the Competition Council does not give a
negative response within one month after the registration of the application, confirmation shall bedeemed to have been given.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 6
4. Undertakings must not later than within one  month after the coming into effect of the
agreement concluded according to the conditions of block exemption present information on the
principal conditions of the agreement to the Competition Council. The Competition Council shall
establish a standard form for the presentation of such information.
Article 8. Individual Exemption
1. An undertaking seeking to get an individual ex emption according to Article 6 of this Law must
submit an application for an individual exemption to the Competition Council prior to the conclusion
or coming into force of the agreement. The agr eement and the documents proving that the agreement
satisfies the requirements of Article 6 shall be attached to the application.
2. The Competition Council must take a decision to grant an individual exemption not later than
within three months after the registration of the application for granting an individual exemption,provided the agreement satisfies the requirements of Article 6, or take a decision to refuse granting an
individual exemption. If the Competition Council fails to take a decision to refuse granting an
individual exemption within the specified period, an  individual exemption shall be deemed to have
been granted according to the conditions provided  for in the application and in the agreement
submitted by the undertaking alongside the application.
3. The decision to grant an individual exemption shall specify the date from which the individual
exemption shall have effect, the period for which it shall have effect and the conditions and
obligations to which the effect of the exemption sh all be subject. The decision to refuse to grant an
individual exemption shall state the principal reasons of non-applicability of an exemption.
4. On the application of the undertaking, the Competition Council may by its decision extend the
effective period of exemption, provided the agreement and the conditions of its implementation
satisfy the requirements of Article 6 and the conditions and obligations imposed by the decision onthe granting of exemption.
5. The Competition Council may amend or cancel its decision to grant an individual exemption,
if:
1) there has been a change of at least one of the circumstances due to which the decision to grant
an individual exemption has been made;
2) the decision to grant an individual exemption was based on false or incomplete information;
3) the parties to the agreement have breached any of the conditions or mandatory obligations
imposed by the decision on the granting of the exemption.
Section II
ABUSE OF A DOMINANT POSITION
Article 9. Prohibition to Abuse a Dominant Position
It shall be prohibited to abuse a dominant position within the relevant market by carrying out
actions which restrict or may restrict competition, limit without cause the possibilities of other
undertakings to act in the market, or violate the interests of consumers, including:
1) direct or indirect imposition of unfair prices or other purchase or selling conditions;2) limitation of trade, production or technical development to the prejudice of consumers;
3) application of dissimilar (discriminating) conditions to equivalent transactions with certain
undertakings, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage;
4) making the conclusion of contract subject to acceptance by the other party of supplementary
obligations which, by their commercial nature or usage, have no connection with the subject of suchcontract.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 7
Section III
CONTROL OF CONCENTRATION
Article 10. Notification of Concentration
1. The intended concentration must be notified to the Competition Council and its permission
shall be required where combined aggregate income of the undertakings concerned is more than LTL
30 million for the  financial year  preceding concentration  and the aggregate income of each of at least
two undertakings concerned is more than LTL 5 million for the  financial year preceding
concentration.
2. The combined aggregate  income of the undertakings participating in a concentration shall be
conceived as:
1) the sum of aggregate income of the undertakings concerned;2) the sum of aggregate income of the undertakings where one or more of the undertakings
concerned acquire by contract another undertaking (the whole or parts of the enterprise), all or a part
of the assets of the undertaking or a part of its shares which, including all previous acquisitions,
constitute 1/4 or more of the authorised capital, or confer 1/4 or more of all the voting rights. Where
the undertaking acquiring a part of shares in  another undertaking belongs to the group of associated
undertakings, in calculating the shares being acquired, the shares in this entity that are owned by the
undertakings belonging to the same group of associated undertakings shall be included. In the case of
acquisition of a part of the undertaking (enterprise) or a part of assets of the undertaking, aggregate
income and market share shall be calculated proportionately to the part of the property acquired;
3) the amount of aggregate income of the undertakings subject to concentration, in one or more of
which one and the same natural person or persons, having the right of control, acquire another
undertaking (whole enterprise or a part of it), all or a part of the assets of the undertaking or a part ofits shares which, including previous acquisitions, constitute 1/4 or more of the authorised capital or
confer 1/4 or more of all the voting rights. When calculating the part of the shares acquired by a
natural person or natural persons from another undertaking, the shares owned in this undertaking by
the undertakings controlled by a natural person or the same natural persons, as well as by all
undertakings belonging to the same group of associated undertakings shall be included. In the case ofacquisition of a part of the undertaking (enterprise) or a part of the assets thereof, aggregate income
and market share shall be calculated proportionately to the part of the assets acquired;
4) the amount of aggregate income of the undertakings which, based on an agreement, jointly set
up a new undertaking, or establish a common management body or any administrative subdivision,
also of those which, due to the decisions taken, will have a half or more of the same members insupervisory board, administrative board or ot her management body, or of those which commit
themselves to co-ordinate among themselves decisions concerning their economic activity or to
transfer to each other the whole or a certain part of profit, or of those which confer to each other the
right to dispose of all or a part of their assets, or one or several undertakings of which by contract or
otherwise acquire control of another undertaking. Where one undertaking confers to anotherundertaking the right to dispose of a part of its assets, the aggregate income and market share shall be
calculated proportionately to the part of the assets disposed.
3. If the participant of a concentration is:
1) a bank or another credit institution, 1/10 of the sum of the balance sheet assets shall be
calculated instead of the aggregate income;
2) an insurance enterprise, the value of gross in surance premiums shall be calculated instead of
the aggregate income;
3) investment company, aggregate income shall be calculated as the sum total of the aggregate
income of all the undertakings under the control of this investment company;
4) an undertaking which belongs to the group of associated undertakings, its aggregate  income
shall be calculated as the sum total of the aggreg ate income of all the undertakings belonging to the
group of associated undertakings;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 8
5) an undertaking of a foreign state, its aggregat e income shall be calculated as the sum total of
income, received on the product markets of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. The Competition Council shall establish the pro cedure for calculating the aggregate income as
applied for the control of concentration.
5. A concentration shall not be deemed to arise where commercial banks, other credit institutions,
intermediaries of public trading in securities, in vestment companies and insurance companies acquire
more than 1/4 of shares in another enterprise or insurance company with a view to transferring them,
provided that they do not exercise voting rights in respect of those shares and that any such disposal
takes place within one year of the date of acquisition and information is submitted to the Competition
Council not later than within one month after acquisition. If the financial institutions which acquired
more than 1/4 of shares in another company decide not to comply with the conditions provided for in
this paragraph, they must submit a notification of concentration in accordance with the establishedgeneral procedure.
Article 11. Submission of Notification
1. Notification of intended concentration in the cases referred to in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of
paragraph 2 of Article 10 shall be submitted by the controlling persons; in other cases notificationshall be effected jointly by all undertakings participating in concentration.
2. Concentration shall be notified to the Competition Council not later than within 7 days from
the submission of proposal to conclude the agreement or to acquire shares or assets, authorisation to
conclude the agreement, conclusion of the agreement, acquisition of the right of ownership or the
right to dispose of certain assets. The term shall begin when the first of those events occurs. The
Competition Council shall establish a standard form for notification of concentration.
3. The notification of concentration shall include:1) registration data of the undertakings participating in concentration;
2) reasons and objectives of concentration;
3) description of the way of concentration;
4) annual financial accounts of each undertaking participating in concentration, for the preceding
three years prior to concentration;
5) data on the enterprises owned by each undertaking participating in concentration or the
enterprises owned by controlling persons as well as data on the enterprises the share-holders of which
they are;
6) purchase and sale volumes of each undertaking participating in concentration within the
preceding three years prior to concentration and evaluation of their market share in a relevant market;
7) the list of the major purchasers and suppliers as well as the main competitors in the relevant
markets of each undertaking participating in concentration.
4. Where notification of intended concentration with the  participation of the undertaking
belonging to a group of associated undertakings is submitted, the data on all the undertakings
belonging to the group of associated undertakings shall be also submitted pursuant to the requirementsof paragraph 3 hereof.
5. Where the notified intended concentration is with participation of banks or other credit
institutions, the Competition Council shall also be submitted the finding of the Bank of Lithuania.
Article 12. Suspension of Concentration
1. The undertakings or controlling persons participating in the concentration which is subject to
notification shall have no right to further effect concentration after the performance of the first actionof concentration until the Competition Council takes a decision permitting concentration concerned.
2. Any transactions and actions of the undertakings and controlling persons shall be deemed
invalid and having no legal consequences if they contradict paragraph 1 hereof, except in cases
provided for in paragraph 3 hereof.
3. Upon justified request of the undertaking particip ating in concentration or of the controlling
person, the Competition Council, taking into account the consequences of the suspension ofIP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 9
concentration on the persons concerned and the projected influence of concentration on competition,
may permit to exercise individual actions of concentration until the adoption of the final decision. The
permission of the Competition Council to implement individual actions of concentration may be made
subject to certain conditions and obligations necessary for execution of the final decision of the
Competition Council. The Competition Council must adopt a resolution establishing rules on releasefrom suspension of concentration.
Article 13. Examination of Notifications by the Competition Council
1. Having received notification of concentration, the Competition Council shall publish an
announcement to the effect in “ Valstybės žinios” (the “Official Gazette”) , indicating the nature of
concentration and the parties concerned.
2. The Competition Council shall within 4 months examine the notifications of concentration
submitted in accordance with the established requirements. The term shall begin on the day following
the receipt of the notification of concentration which complies with the established requirements. If
the notification of concentration does not comply w ith the established requirements, the Competition
Council shall adopt a corresponding resolution and promptly inform the persons who submitted the
notification thereof in writing.
3. The Competition Council must within a month after the receipt of the notice meeting the
established requirements adopt a resolution pursuant to subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the paragraph 1 of
Article 14 or a resolution to proceed with further examination of the notification of concentration.
4. When examining notifications of concentration, the Competition Council shall be entitled to
obtain from undertakings, controlling persons, and public and local authorities information, oral or
written clarifications necessary for taking a decision on concentration.
Article 14. Resolutions of the Competition Council on Concentration
1. Upon completing the examination of notification, the Competition Council shall take one of
the following decisions:
1) to permit the concentration notified;
2) to permit the implementation of concentration attaching to its decision conditions and
obligations for the participating undertakings or controlling persons in order to prevent creation or
strengthening of a dominant position;
3) to refuse to grant a permission to implement concentration by imposing obligations on
undertakings or controlling persons concerned to undertake actions restoring the previous situation,
except certain actions of concentration which had been permitted by the Competition Council inaccordance with paragraph 3 of Article 12 or which eliminate the consequences of concentration,
including obligations to sell the enterprise or a part of it, assets of undertakings or part theirof, shares
or part theirof, to cancel or modify contracts, as well as to establish the terms and conditions for the
fulfilment of the above obligations, where concentration will establish or strengthen a dominant
position and result in a substantial restriction of competition in a relevant market.
2. The resolution of the Competition Council permitting to implement the concentration shall
specify possible restrictions of activity of the undertakings concerned, which are directly related andnecessary in order to effect concentration.
3. The persons who submitted notifications of concentration shall be informed in writing of the
adopted resolutions. If the Competition Council does not adopt the resolutions referred to in paragraph
2 of Article 13 or paragraph 1 hereof or if the persons who submitted notifications of concentration
are not informed of the adopted resolution within 4 months after the day of receipt of the notificationmeeting the established requirements, the undertakin gs or controlling persons shall have the right to
implement concentration according to the conditions specified in the notification.
4. Operative part of resolutions adopted by the Competition Council according to Article 14 of
this Law shall be published in “ Valstybės žinios” (the “Official Gazette”) .IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 10
Article 15. Investigation of Infringements of Concentration Control and
Amendment or Revocation of Resolutions on Concentration Adopted
by the Competition Council
1. Where there are reasonable grounds for believing that a concentration has been put into effect
in violation of the requirements of this Law or in breach of the resolutions of the Competition
Council, the Competition Council shall carry out inves tigation according to the provisions of Section
Five of this Law.
2. The Competition Council shall have the righ t to amend or to revoke the resolution on
concentration provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 14 if such resolution has been adopted based on
incorrect or incomplete information submitted by undertakings participating in concentration or by
controlling persons, which information has had a decisive influence on the resolution, or where
undertakings or controlling persons have violated the conditions and obligations of theimplementation of concentration.
Chapter III
UNFAIR COMPETITION
Article 16 Prohibition of Acts of Unfair Competition
1. Undertakings shall be prohibited from performing any acts contrary to honest business
practices if such acts may be detrimental to competition interests of another undertaking, including:
1) unauthorised use of a mark identical or similar to the name, registered or unregistered well
known trade mark or other reference having a distinguishing feature of another undertaking, if this
causes or may cause confusion with that undertaking or its activity or where it is sought to take undue
advantage of the reputation of that undertaking (its mark or reference) or where this may cause injuryto the reputation (its mark or reference) of that undertaking or reduction of the distinguishing feature
of the mark or reference applied by that undertaking;
2) misleading of undertakings by providing them with incorrect or unjustified information about
quantity, quality, components, properties of usage, place and means of manufacturing, price of its
goods or goods of another undertaking, or concealing risks associated with the consumption,processing or other possible usage of those goods;
3) using, transferring, disclosing the information representing a commercial secret of another
undertaking without its consent, also obtaining su ch information from the persons having no right to
transfer it, in order to compete, seeking benefit for oneself or inflicting damage on that undertaking;
4) proposing that the employees of the competing undertaking terminate their employment
contracts or refrain from performing all or part of their work-related duties, with a view to self-benefit
or seeking to inflict damage on the competing undertaking;
5) simulating the product or product packaging of another undertaking by copying the external
shape or packaging colour or other distinguishing feature of the product, if this can be misleading in
determining the identity of the product or if the acts are intended to obtain the benefits by taking
undue advantage of the reputation of another undertaking;
6) providing incorrect or unsubstantiated information about its own or another undertaking’s
managing personnel, skills of the employees, legal, financial or other position if damage may thereby
be inflicted on another undertaking;
7) advertising claims which are considered misleading under the laws of the Republic of
Lithuania.
2. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 hereof specifies the cases which shall not be considered as the
use of identical or similar name, trade mark or reference mark: when the name or surname of the
owner or the holder of controlling interest or the founder is used in a name, trade mark or reference
mark, and the undertakings, using such a name, trade mark or reference mark have taken measures to
prevent misleading the customers as to the identity of the undertaking or the good.
3. The information specified in subparagraph 2 of paragraph 1 hereof on the designation of origin
of a good implies geographical indications provided in any suitable way characterising the good asIP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 11
produced in the territory of a certain state or in a certain region or area of the territory which is
associated with quality, reputation or other properties of the good.
4. The persons who have acquired information of a commercial secret as a result of their work or
any other contractual relations with the undertaking may use this information not earlier than after the
passage of one year after the termination of employment or other contractual relations, unlesslegislation or the contract provides otherwise.
5. The actions taken with a view to achieving certain functional characteristics of a good or of its
packaging shall not be considered a simulation of the appearance of the good or of the form of its
packaging provided the person, responsible for such actions, has taken measures to prevent
misleading other undertakings or consumers as to the identity of the manufacturer or the good.
Article 17. Protection of Rights
1. The undertaking legitimate interests whereof are violated by actions of unfair competition shall
be entitled to bring an action in court seeking:
1) termination of illegal actions;
2) recovery of the damages;
3) imposition of the obligation to make one or several statements of a certain content or form,
denying the previously submitted incorrect information or giving explanations as to the identity of the
undertaking or its goods;
4) seizure and destruction of the goods, their packaging or attributes, directly related to unfair
competition, unless infringements can be eliminated otherwise.
2. The organisations representing the interests of undertakings or consumers shall also enjoy the
rights specified in subparagraphs 1, 3 and 4 of paragraph 1 hereof.
3. Liability for the use of misleading advertising shall be established by the laws of the Republic
of Lithuania.
4. The Competition Council shall investigate the acts of unfair competition only in the cases
where these acts violate the interests of a number of undertakings or consumers. The Competition
Council shall impose sanctions for these acts provided for by legislation.
Chapter IV
INSTITUTION CONTROLLING ACTIONS RESTRICTING COMPETITION
Article 18. Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania
1. The Competition Council is a public body of the Republic of Lithuania implementing the state
competition policy and supervising compliance with this Law.
2. The Competition Council shall be a legal person, having its accounts with the banks, a seal
with the Lithuanian State Emblem and its name.
3. The Competition Council shall be governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania,
by this and other laws, international agreements to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party, other
legal acts, and the Regulations of the Competition Council approved by the Government.
4. The Competition Council shall be a budgetary institution financed from the Lithuanian state
budget.
5. The Law on Budgetary Institutions shall be applicable to the activity of the Competition
Council, unless this Law provides otherwise.
Article 19. Powers of the Competition Council
1. The Competition Council shall:
1) control the compliance by undertakings, public and local authorities with the requirements of
this Law;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 12
2) establish the criteria and procedure for providing the definitions of the relevant market and a
dominant position, investigate and define relevant markets, determine the market share of
undertakings, and their position in a relevant market;
3) give obligatory instructions to undertakings, from among them - to banks and other credit
institutions as well as public and local authorities to submit financial and other documentation,including that containing commercial secrets and other information required for market investigation
or fulfilment of other tasks of the Council;
4) examine the conformity of legal acts or other decisions adopted by public and local authorities
with the requirements of Article 4 of this Law, and, where there is sufficient cause, apply to public
and local authorities with the request to amend or revoke legal acts or other decisions restricting
competition. In case of failure to satisfy the requirement the Council shall have the right to appeal
against such decisions, except for the statutory acts issued by the Government of the Republic ofLithuania, to the Higher Administrative Court;
5) investigate and consider infringements of this Law and impose penalties on the defaulters in
the cases and following the procedure provided for by law;
6) appeal to the court for the protection of interests of the State and other persons safeguarded by
this Law;
7) adopt legal acts within the limits of its competence;
8) within its competence carry out expert examination of drafts of laws and other legal acts,
submit findings on the effect of said acts on competition to the Seimas and the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania;
9) exercise other powers provided for by this and other laws.2. The Competition Council may delegate some of its powers to the Chairperson of the
Competition Council or to the administration of the Competition Council, except for the powers to
make decisions or to hear cases provided for by Articles 7, 8, paragraph 4 of Article 10, paragraph 1
of Article 14, paragraph 2 of Article 15 of this Law and the authorisation to impose penalties
prescribed by this Law and to adopt legal acts.
3. The administration of the Competition Council shall be formed to fulfil the functions of the
Competition Council. Its structure and list of staff shall be approved by the Competition Council. The
functions of the administration and the administrative staff shall be laid down in this Law and in the
Regulations approved by the Competition Council.
Article 20. Composition and Formation of the Competition Council,
its Operational Procedure
1. The Competition Council shall consist of the Chairperson and 4 members. The Chairperson of
the Competition Council and its members shall be appointed by the President of the Republic on the
nomination of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania. The Chairperson of the Competition
Council shall be appointed for a term of five years, the term of appointment of the members of the
Competition Council shall be six years. Every three years there shall be a partial replacement of theCouncil members. During the first appointment of the members of the Competition Council two
members shall be appointed for a term of six years and 2 members - for three years.
2. Persons of highest integrity who are trained in law or economics and are citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania may hold the office of the Chairperson and of members of the Competition
Council.
3. The Chairperson and the members of the Competition Council shall be removed from office
only:
1) of their own volition;
2) upon the expiry of their term of office;
3) upon being elected or appointed to another office;
4) upon the coming into force of the court sentence;
5) if instances of malfeasance are revealed;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 13
6) if by their acts they discredit the name of the Chairperson or the member of the Competition
Council;
7) for health reasons.
4. The members of the Competition Council may not, during their term of office, engage in any
other occupation, except for scientific, educational or creative work they may perform upon theapproval of the Competition Council.
5. The Competition Council shall resolve issues assigned within its competence by passing
resolutions. The resolutions shall be passed by ma jority vote with at least four members of the
Competition Council, the Chairperson including, particip ating in the voting. In the event of a tie, the
Chairperson shall have the casting vote.
6. Operational procedure of the Competition Council and rules regulating the procedure of the
investigation of cases shall be laid down in the Work Regulations adopted by the CompetitionCouncil.
Article 21. The Chairperson of the Competition Council
1. The Chairperson of the Competition Council shall:
1) direct the work of the Competition Council;2) represent the Competition Council in the Republic of Lithuania and abroad;
3) employ and dismiss the administra tive staff of the Competition Council;
4) submit annual reports on the Competition Council activities to the Seimas and Government of
the Republic of Lithuania;
5) fulfil other functions assigned to him by the Competition Council.
2. In the Chairperson’s absence his duties shall be fulfilled by another member of the
Competition Council, who shall be appointed by the Chairperson.
3. The Chairperson of the Competition Council or, in his absence, another member of the
Competition Council appointed to act for him shall have the right to participate in the meetings of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania without the right to vote and must voice his comments
should the decisions proposed for adoption contradict this Law.
Article 22. Protection of Commercial Secrets
1. Commercial secrets disclosed to the Competition Council and its administrative staff during
their exercise of control over compliance with this Law must be kept confidential and, in the absence
of the undertaking’s consent, must be used only for the purpose the information was provided.
2. For the disclosure of commercial secrets of undertakings the Competition Council and its
administrative staff shall be held liable under law.
Chapter V
INVESTIGATION OF RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES AND HEARING OF CASES
Section IV
INVESTIGATION OF RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES,
CARRIED OUT BY THE COMPETITION COUNCIL
Article 23. Infringements Investigated by the Competition Council
1. The Competition Council shall investigate:
1) infringement of agreements restricting competition and of conditions and obligations of
exemption granted under Articles 7 and 8 of this Law;
2) abuse of a dominant position;
3) putting into effect of a concentration without notifying or without getting a permit or in breach
of the established conditions or obligations stated as well as continuing to put in effect a concentration
during its suspension;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 14
4) unfair competition in the cases provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 17 of this Law;
5) infringements in case of failure to comply with  the requests to supply information or failure to
timely comply, also in case of provision of inco rrect or incomplete information or, in the cases
provided for in this Law, failure to supply inform ation within the period fixed, or obstruction of the
authorised officers of the Competition Council in carrying out the investigation or default on penaltiesor obligations imposed by the Competition Council.
2. The investigation shall be carried out by the administrative staff members of the Competition
Council authorised by it (hereinafter - authorised officers).
Article 24. The Right to Initiate Investigation of Restrictive Practices
1. The right of request to start investigation of restrictive practices shall be vested in:
1) undertakings whose interests have been violated due to restrictive practices;2) public and local authorities;
3) associations and unions representing the interests of undertakings and consumers.
2. The Competition Council shall have the right to  start investigation on its own initiative by
taking a justified decision.
Article 25. Submission of Application for Investigation and its Examination
1. The request for the investigation to be carried out shall be submitted in a written application,
specifying the facts and circumstances of restrictive practices the applicant is aware of. Documents
confirming the above facts shall be attached to the application.
2. The Competition Council shall set the general requirements for the data and documentation to
be provided by the applicant in order to start investigation of restrictive practices.
3. The Competition Council must examine applications filed with respect to the restrictive
practices not later than within 14 days from submission of the application and documentation and take
a decision to start or to refuse to start the investigation.
4. The refusal to start investigation follows, if:
1) the facts indicated in the application are immaterial, causing no substantial damage to the
interests protected under this Law;
2) investigation of the facts specified in the application is not within the Competition Council’s
remit;
3) the facts specified in the application have already been investigated and a resolution has
already been taken on the issue;
4) the applicant has failed to provide, within the time period set by the Competition Council, the
data and documents required in order to initiate the investigation.
5. The Competition Council shall take a justified decision to investigate the restrictive practices.
6. The Competition Council must complete the investigation not later than within 3 months from
the commencement thereof. The Competition Council may extend the period by a justified resolution
each time for up to 2 months.
Article 26. Rights and Duties of the Au thorised Officers of the Competition
Council in the Process of Investigation
1. The authorised officers of the Competition Council, carrying out the investigation, shall be
empowered:
1) to enter and to check any premises, land and means of transport used by the undertaking;
2) to examine the documents of the undertaking under investigation required for investigation, get
their copies and extracts, be given access to the notes of the employees of the undertaking, also copy
the above notes as well as information stored in computers and magnetic disks;
3) to get oral and written explanations from the persons connected with the activity of the
undertakings under investigation, summon them to the office of the investigating officer to give
explanations;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 15
4) to get from other undertakings, regardless of their subordination, data and documents or copies
thereof relating to the economic operations of th e undertaking under investigation, also from public
and local authorities;
5) to audit (carry out an inspection of) the economic activity of the undertaking and obtain
findings regarding the material of inspection from the institutions responsible for expert examination;
6) to take possession of any documents and articles having evidential value in the investigation of
the case;
7) to enlist the assistance of specialists and experts in carrying out the investigation;
8) acting in compliance with the procedure established by law, use technical means for
investigation purposes.
2. The actions of investigation specified in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 1 hereof may be
carried out only with the warrant of the judge.
3. For the maintenance of order the investigatin g officers of the Competition Council may enlist
police assistance
4. Before commencing the actions specified herein, the authorised officers of the Competition
Council must produce a document issued by the Competition Council confirming their powers,
purpose and time limits of investigation.
5. While exercising their rights granted by law and the Competition Council, the officers
authorised by the Competition Council shall register in vestigation actions in writing, i.e. shall draw up
documents (acts, records, requests, etc.) the form and filling in procedure whereof shall be established
by the Competition Council.
6. Instructions given by the authorised officers of the Competition Council while performing
actions provided for in paragraph 1 hereof shall be obligatory to undertakings and to their
management and administrative staff. Penalties provided for in laws shall be applied for failure to
fulfil the instructions.
7. The authorised investigating officers shall warn the persons providing explanations in writing
of their liability for giving false information or fo r refusal to provide inform ation to the Competition
Council.
Article 27. Appeal against the Acti ons of the Investigating Officers
1. The undertakings, suspected of having violated the Law on Competition, shall have the right to
appeal to the Competition Council against illegitimate actions of the investigating officers. A
complaint shall be filed not later than within 10 da ys from the date of actions subject to appeal. The
Competition Council must take decision within 10 days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
2. If the undertakings, suspected of infringement of the Law on Competition, object to the
decision of the Competition Council or if the Competition Council fails to make a decision within a
10-day period, the undertakings shall have the right to  file a complaint with the Higher Administrative
Court. The filing of the complaint shall not suspend investigation.
Article 28. Interim Measures
1. In cases, where there is sufficient evidence of infringement of the Law on Competition, the
Competition Council, seeking to prevent substantial or irreparable damage to the interests of
undertakings or public interests, shall have the right to apply interim measures necessary for the
implementation of the final decision of the Competition Council. The application of interim measures
shall cease upon the payment of the penalties imposed by the resolution of the Competition Council
adopted after the investigation of the case.
2. In cases provided for in paragraph 1 hereof the Competition Council shall have the right to
apply the following interim measures with respect to  the undertaking suspected of infringement of the
Law on Competition:
1) to obligate the undertakings to cease an illegal activity;IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 16
2) upon being issued a warrant by the judge of the Higher Administrative Court, to obligate the
undertakings to perform certain actions if failure to perform same would result in serious damage to
other undertakings or public interests or incur irreparable consequences.
3. Before adopting a resolution to apply interim measures, the Competition Council shall give the
undertaking suspected of infringement of the Law on Competition an opportunity to makerepresentations.
4. The decision of the Competition Council on the application of interim measures may be
appealed against to the Higher Administrative C ourt within 1 month from the date of making the
decision. The lodging of a complaint does not suspend the application of interim measures.
Article 29. The Procedure for Authoris ing Investigation Measures, Interim
Measures and Restrictions of Economic Activities
1. Upon the adoption by the Competition Council of a resolution on the investigation actions as
provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 26 or on interim measures as provided for in subparagraph 2 of
paragraph 2 of Article 28, or on restrictions of economic activities as provided for in paragraph 2 of
Article 40, the authorised officer of the Council shal l submit an application to the court to authorise
these actions, measures or restrictions. The application shall be submitted to the HigherAdministrative Court.
2. The application shall state the name of undertaking, specify the character of alleged violations
and the intended investigation actions, interim measures or restrictions of economic activity to be
applied.
3. The judge of the Higher Administrative Court shall examine the application for the
authorisation of investigation actions, interim measures or restrictions of economic activities and shall
make a justified decision to grant or to reject the application.
4. The application for authorisation of investigation actions, interim measures or restrictions of
economic activities shall be examined and the decision thereon shall be taken not later than within 72
hours from the moment of filing of the application.
5. If the authorised officer of the Competition Council disagrees with the decision of the judge of
the Higher Administrative Court to reject the applic ation, he shall have the right to appeal within 7
days against the judge’s decision to the appeal court.
6. The appeal court must investigate the complaint against the decision of the judge of the Higher
Administrative Court not later than within 7 days. The representative of the Competition Council shall
have the right to attend the complaint investigation.
7. The decision of the appeal court shall be final and shall not be referred to the court for review
by cassation.
8. While considering applications and complaints regarding the authorisation of investigation
actions, interim measures or restrictions of economic activities, the courts must ensure confidentiality
of the provided information and intended actions.
Article 30. Completion of Investigation
1. Upon the completion of investigation the author ised officers of the Competition Council shall
refer the case with their findings and proposals to the session of the Competition Council for
investigation or shall discontinue the investigation according to the procedure laid down by the
Competition Council.
2. The applicant and the interested parties shall be notified in writing of the decision taken.
3. Should new circumstances be revealed or if the undertaking fails to comply with the conditions
and obligations laid down on the basis of this Law, the Competition Council shall have the right to
reopen the closed investigation.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 17
Section V
HEARING OF RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES CASES
Article 31. The Participants of the Hearing Process
1. The hearing of the case on infringements referred to in Article 23 shall be held with the
following persons participating:
1) the applicant (the initiator of investigation);2) the undertaking suspected of infringement of the Law on Competition (alleged defaulter);
3) on the decision of the Competition Council, other undertakings whose interests are directly
related to  the case under investigation;
4) representatives of public and local authorities, at their request;
5) experts, specialists and other persons, pursuant to the decision of the Competition Council.2. Persons specified in subparagraphs 1, 2 and 3 of paragraph 1 hereof, hereafter in this Law shall
be referred to as parties to the proceedings.
3. The parties to the proceedings may be represented by their representatives and lawyers.
Article 32. Notice of the Hearing of the Case
The parties to the proceedings shall be notified in writing of the findings of the authorised
officers regarding the restrictive practices, of the place and time of hearing of the case and shall beoffered to submit their written comments. The Competition Council may notify of the hearing of the
case through the media.
Article 33. Persons Participating in the Hearing of the Case at the Session
of the Competition Council
The case shall be heard in the presence of the parties to the proceedings and other persons
participating in the case. In the absence of the parties to the proceedings, the case may be heard only
when information is available that said persons have been timely notified of the place and time of the
hearing and have been given an opportunity to make representations and familiarise themselves with
the findings of the investigation.
Article 34. The Right to be Heard, to Give Explanations and to Familiarise
Oneself with the Investigation Material
1. At the stages of investigation and hearing of the case the parties to the proceedings shall have
the right to be heard and to give explanations bot h in writing and orally. Upon the completion of the
investigation the parties to the proceedings shall be presented with the written findings of the
authorised officer and shall be provided access to the documents of the case, other than thosecontaining commercial secrets of another undertaking. In such cases the consent of this undertaking
shall be required.
2. The parties to the proceedings and other persons participating in the case shall have the right to
make an application to the Competition Council at an y stage of investigation and hearing of the case,
requesting protection of their commercial secrets. The Competition Council or its authorised officer
must make a justified decision on the protection of commercial secrets and notify the applicant
thereof. The applicant may be obligated to produce within the set time period an extract of the
document omitting commercial secrets, which shall be appended to the case.
Article 35. Public Hearing of Cases
The hearing of cases at the sessions of the Competition Council shall be public. The Competition
Council may on its own initiative or at the request  of the alleged defaulter or any other interested
person announce a closed hearing of the case where it is necessary to keep the state secret or
commercial secrets of undertakings.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 18
Article 36. Resolutions of the Competition Council Adopted upon the
Completion of Hearing of the Case
1. Upon completing the hearing of the case, the Co mpetition Council shall have the right to adopt
a resolution:
1) to impose the penalties provided for by this Law;
2) to refuse to impose penalties where there are no legally established grounds;3) to close the case in the absence of infringements of the Law;
4) to remand the case for supplementary investigation.
2. The resolution of the Competition Council must state the circumstances of infringement of this
Law, evidence of guilt, explanations given to the Competition Council by the defaulter, applicant and
other persons as well as their assessment, the motives and legal grounds of the resolution to beadopted.
3. The resolution of the Competition Council must be based only on those findings and facts and
circumstances of the investigation with respect to which the person suspected of infringement of the
Law on Competition had been afforded an opportunity to give explanations.
4. The resolution of Competition Council adopted pursuant to this Article may be amended or
cancelled only by the court.
Article 37. Announcement of Resolutions of the Competition Council
1. The Competition Council resolution or its extract shall be delivered to the parties to the
proceedings.
2. The operative part of the resolutions adopted by the Competition Council pursuant to Article
36 of this Law shall be published in “ Valstybės žinios” (the “Official Gazette”) .
Section VI
JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST
THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE COMPETITION COUNCIL
Article 38. Appeal against the Resolutions of the Competition Council
1. The undertakings aa well as other persons who believe that their rights protected by this Law
have been violated shall have the right to appeal to the Higher Administrative Court against the
resolutions of the Competition Council. The parties to the proceedings shall have the right to appeal
against the resolutions of the Competition Council adopted pursuant to Article 36 of this Law.
2. A written complaint shall be lodged not later than within 20 days after the delivery of the
resolution or publication of its operative part in “ Valstybės žinios” (the “Official Gazette”) .
3. Unless the Higher Administration Court decides otherwise, the lodging of a complaint shall not
suspend the implementation of the resolutions of the Competition Council.
Article 39. Decision of the Court
Upon investigation of the complaint against the resolution of the Competition Council, the court
shall make one of the following decisions:
1) to leave the resolution as it stands and to reject the complaint;2) to revoke the resolution or its individual sections and to remand the case to the Competition
Council for supplementary investigation;
3) to revoke the resolution or its individual sections;
4) to amend the resolution on the granting of individual exemption, concentration, application of
penalties or interim measures.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 19
Chapter VI
LIABILITY FOR INFRINGEMENT OF THE LAW ON COMPETITION
Article 40. Penalties Imposed on Undertakings
1. Upon establishing that undertakings have engaged in conduct prohibited under this Law or
have otherwise infringed this Law, the Competition Council shall have the right :
1) to place the undertakings under an obligation to end illegal activity, to carry out actions
restoring the previous situation or eliminating cons equences of infringement, including the obligation
to cancel, amend or conclude contracts, also to  set the time limit and lay down the conditions for
meeting the above obligations;
2) to obligate the undertakings or controlling persons, who have effected concentration resulting
in the establishment or strengthening of a dominant position and subsequent considerable reduction ofcompetition in a relevant market without notifyin g the Competition Council or getting its permission,
also in the cases provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 15 of this Law, to carry out actions restoring
the previous situation or eliminating the consequen ces of concentration, including obligations to sell
the enterprise or a part thereof, the assets of the un dertaking or a part thereof, shares or a part thereof,
to reorganise the enterprise, to cancel or change contracts, as well as to set the time limit and lay downthe conditions for fulfilling of the above obligations;
3) to impose fines on undertakings fixed by this Law.
2. Upon being issued an authorisation by the High er Administrative Court judge, the Competition
Council may by its resolution prescribe the following restrictions of economic activity of undertakings
which default on the imposed penalties specified in paragraph 1 hereof: suspend export-import
operations, bank operations, the validity of the permit (licence) to engage in certain economic activity.
The resolutions of the Competition Council shall ha ve a binding force for the institutions empowered
to apply the above restrictions and must be implemented without delay. The restrictions shall be lifted
after the implementation of penalties imposed by the Competition Council.
3. For violation of this Law an action may be brought against undertakings not later than within
three years from the date of infringement, and in case of continued violation - from the date of
performance of the last acts.
Article 41. Fines
1. A fine of from LTL 3000 to 100000 may be imposed on undertakings for prohibited
agreements; infringement of the conditions of exemption granted pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of this
Law; abuse of a dominant position, in the cases provided for in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 ofparagraph 1 of Article 9 of this Law; putting into  effect of a notifiable concentration without the
permission of the Competition Council; continuation of concentration within the period of its
suspension, also infringement of concentration conditions or mandatory obligations established by the
Competition Council. In the case when infringements listed in this paragraph have been made in
aggravating circumstances, a fine of a larger amount may be imposed on the undertakings but not
exceeding 10% of the gross annual income.
2. A fine of from LTL 1000 to 30000 may be imposed on undertakings for the actions of unfair
competition subject to investigation by the Competition Council. In the cases where infringements
enumerated in this paragraph have been made in aggravating circumstances, a fine of a larger amount
may be imposed on the undertakings but not exceeding 3% of the gross annual income.
3. A fine of from LTL 1000 to 10000 may be imposed on undertakings for providing incorrect or
incomplete information required for investigat ion, also for providing incorrect and incomplete
information in an application for granting exemption under Article 8 of this Law, in notification of
concentration or in any other notification submitted to the Competition Council in the cases provided
for by this Law.
4. A fine of from LTL 3000 to 100000 may be imposed on undertakings for obstructing the
officers of Competition Council from entering and checking the premises, land and means of transportIP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 20
used by the undertaking, to inspect or take possession of any documents and articles having evidential
value in the investigation of the case.
5. A fine of from LTL 1000 to 10000 may be imposed on undertakings for each day of
commission (continuation) of infringement in the even t of failure to satisfy or to satisfy in good time
the obligations of the Competition Council to put an end to illegal activity; to perform actionsrestoring previous situation or eliminating the conse quences of infringement; also for failure to fulfil
or fulfil without delay the instructions to provide information; for failure to provide notification of
intended concentration within the time limits established by the Law; for failure to provide in good
time information in the cases provided for by this Law.
Article 42. Imposition of Fines and Setting their Amount
1. In setting the amount of a fine imposed on undertakings, regard shall be had to:
1) amount of damage caused by the infringement;
2) duration of the infringement;
3) circumstances extenuating or aggravating the liability of an undertaking;
4) amount of income due to the undertaking because of the infringement;
5) influence of each undertaking in the commission of the infringement, if the infringement has
been committed by several undertakings.
2. Voluntarily putting an end to the effect of detrimental consequences of infringement after the
commission thereof, rendering of assistance to the Competition Council in the course of investigation,
compensation for the losses or elimination of damage shall be considered as extenuating
circumstances.
3. Obstruction of investigation, concealment of th e committed infringement, failure to put an end
to infringement notwithstanding the obligation by the Competition Council to discontinue illegalactions or repeated commission of the infringement for which the undertakings have been subjected to
penalties provided for in this Law shall be considered as aggravating circumstances.
4. When setting the amount of a fine, the Competition Council may also recognise other
circumstances not indicated herein as extenuating. The Competition Council shall take a decision
whereby the rules of recognition of exte nuating circumstances shall be laid down.
Article 43. Exemption from Fines
1. The undertaking which is a party to a prohibited agreement between competitors shall be
exempted from fines provided for in respect of the infringement upon presenting to the Competition
Council full information relating to the agreemen t if all the following conditions are satisfied:
1) the undertaking provides information prior to the beginning of investigation of the agreement;
2) the undertaking is the first of the parties to the prohibited agreement to provide such
information;
3) the undertaking provides complete information available to it regarding the prohibited
agreement and co-operates with the Competition Council during the investigation;
4) the undertaking has not been the initiator of the prohibited agreement and has not induced
other undertakings to participate in such an agreement.
2. The dominating undertaking which has committed prohibited actions provided for in
subparagraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of paragraph 1 of Article, 9 shall be exempted from the fines provided for
in respect of those infringements, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
1) the undertaking provides complete information required for the investigation of abuse of
dominant position and co-operates with the Competition Council during the investigation;
2) the prohibited actions committed by the undertaking have not caused substantial and
irreparable damage to the interests of other undertakings or public interests;
3) the undertaking stops the prohibited actions of its own free will and furnishes proof thereof
before the end of the investigation;
4) the undertaking compensates of its own free will the damage caused by the prohibited actions
and furnishes proof of this before the end of the investigation.IP/N/1/LTU/I/1
Page 21
3. The Competition Council, having completed the investigation and when adopting the final
resolution on the infringement shall decide, whether the conditions specified herein have been met
and the undertaking qualifies for exemption from fines.
Article 44. Recovery of Fines
1. An undertaking must pay into the State Budget the fine imposed by the Competition Council
not later than within three months afte r the date of receipt of the resolution.
2. Upon a justified request of the undertaking payment of a fine or a part thereof may be
postponed by a decision of the Competition Council for up to six months.
3. The fine not paid by the undertaking shall be recovered into the State Budget. The resolution of
the Competition Council shall be submitted to the bailiff for execution according to the procedure
established by the Code of Civil Procedure. The resolution may be submitted for execution not laterthan within three years from the date of its adoption.
Article 45. Administrative Liability
Infringement of this Law shall incur administrative liability established by the laws of the
Republic of Lithuania.
Article 46. Compensation for Damage
1. The undertakings who violate this Law must compensate for damage caused to other
undertakings or natural and legal persons according to the procedure established by the laws of the
Republic of Lithuania.
2. Damage caused to undertakings by illegal actions of the Competition Council or its officers
shall be compensated according to the procedure established by law.
I hereby proclaim this Law enacted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC VALDAS ADAMKUS
__________