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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Flags flutter outdoors an Amazon distribution centre in Passo Corese, Italy March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photograph
By Alvise Armellini
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s competitors watchdog AGCM is attempting to shut a authorized loophole that has allowed a number of firms to evade antitrust fines and will assist Amazon (NASDAQ:) in an ongoing attraction, a authorized knowledgeable and two sources instructed Reuters.
The European Fee is carefully following the matter, which has potential implications for a file 1.1-billion-euro ($1.2 billion) fantastic in Italy that the U.S. e-commerce firm is difficult earlier than native administrative courts.
A 1981 regulation, solely just lately utilized to antitrust circumstances in Italy, implies that the AGCM should notify firms focused by its investigations inside 90 days of it changing into conscious of alleged anti-competitive behaviour.
The regulation has been utilized by the Council of State, Italy’s prime administrative court docket, over the past three years to scrap a number of antitrust penalties on account of a failure to satisfy that point limitation.
Legislation professor Michele Ainis, an AGCM board member till March, instructed Reuters that the Council of State’s method was severely problematic, because the 90-day limitation is unrealistic for complicated antitrust circumstances.
“The Italian antitrust is the one (competitors) company in Europe topic to this (time) guillotine,” he mentioned in a cellphone interview. “It’s such a good deadline that it’s virtually not possible to respect.”
Amazon was handed the fantastic in 2021 by the AGCM for alleged abuse of a dominant place within the Italian market to favour the adoption of its personal logistics service by sellers lively on Amazon.it.
Amazon mentioned on the time it “strongly disagreed” with the Italian regulator’s choice and would attraction.
Two sources with data of the state of affairs confirmed that the AGCM was involved about dropping extra circumstances that go earlier than the Council of State on time limitation grounds, together with on the Amazon fantastic.
The Council of State is the ultimate court docket of attraction in opposition to AGCM selections.
Two different sources mentioned the difficulty of the 90-day rule is likely one of the arguments that Amazon has introduced in its attraction of the 1.1-billion-euro fantastic, presently sitting earlier than a lower-level regional administrative court docket.
EU INVOLVEMENT
The European Fee mentioned in a press release to Reuters it was “conscious of the current developments within the case-law of the Italian courts and of the issues raised by the Italian competitors authority.”
Fee spokeswoman Arianna Podesta mentioned the EU government “is in touch with Italian authorities”, however declined to substantiate it had despatched a letter to Rome as a part of procedures that might result in an EU infringement process.
Ainis mentioned if EU authorized proceedings had been wanted to settle the difficulty this might be “the worst state of affairs” for Italy, as it will take time and result in potential fines.
Alternatively, the federal government might go a regulation to shut the loophole, or Italian administrative judges might search an opinion from the EU Court docket of Justice.
Ainis believed any EU authorized motion could be based mostly on a 2019 EU directive on the prerogatives of nationwide competitors authorities.
Podesta cited it in her assertion, indicating it was related.
She mentioned it was essential that nationwide competitors authorities have adequate time to conduct all the mandatory investigations in complicated circumstances.
“It’s also necessary that nationwide competitors authorities are in a position to prioritise sure circumstances and deprioritise others,” she added.
The AGCM, the Council of State and Amazon Italy declined to remark.
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