Requests for Information in Turkish Competition Law

Article 14 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (Law No. 4054) provides that the Turkish Competition Board (Board) may request any information and documents that it deems necessary from all public institutions and organisations, undertakings and trade associations. The Board’s power to request information and documents is not limited to the investigative stage and can be exercised at any time during the procedure, including after the Board’s final decision. This power is also not limited to the investigated parties or the notifying parties in case of a merger control filing. The Board may request information from third parties, including customers, rivals and suppliers, as well as other persons related to the investigation or transaction notified to the Turkish Competition Authority (Authority). The addressees are obliged to provide the requested information within the deadline set by the Authority. There have been cases where the Authority sends official information requests to undertakings based abroad within the scope of investigations conducted in Turkey, where the said undertaking has no appointed representatives or contacts in Turkey.

The Authority conveys its information and document requests by way of an official letter, informing the addressee of the scope of the proceeding, the legal basis of its request, the information and documents that are requested, the deadline for the addressee to convey their responses, as well as a warning on the applicable fines for failure to respond or the provision of incorrect or misleading information. The Authority may also conduct interviews with undertakings to obtain information.

The addressees are required to provide correct and complete information to the best of their abilities. Law No. 4054 does not include a provision allowing the addressees to refuse to provide certain information on the basis that it is not deemed necessary, or that it exceeds the scope of the inquiry or that it contains commercial secrets. In case of failure to provide the requested information or the provision of false, missing or misleading information, the Authority can impose a fine as per Article 16 of Law No. 4054, which can be challenged before administrative courts.

For more information on RFIs in Turkish competition law, please feel free to reach out to ELIG Gurkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or through gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com.