PCC hikes fines for competition law violations

MANILA, Philippines — To ensure effective market regulation and fair competition, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has raised fines for anti-competitive practices and other violations of the competition law.

Under Memorandum Circular (MC) 26-002, the PCC has increased the administrative fines for violations of the Philippine Competition Act (PCA).

For the first offense involving anti-competitive agreements and abuses of market dominance, the PCC raised the maximum fine to P125 million from P110 million.

For the second and succeeding offenses, the new penalty ranges from P125 million to P310 million, up from the previous range of P110 million to P275 million.

Failure or refusal to comply with a PCC ruling now incurs a penalty of P60,000 to P2.5 million, higher than the previous P55,000 to P2.2 million.

For incorrect or misleading information, the maximum fine is now P1.25 million, up from P1.1 million.

For belated notification of mergers, the maximum penalty is now P2.5 million, up from P2.2 million.

Penalties for other violations were also raised to P60,000 up to P2.5 million from P55,000 to P2.2 million.

These new fines will apply only to violations committed after the MC takes effect.

The PCC said the new penalties will take effect on June 4.

Under the PCA, penalties will be increased by the PCC “every five years to maintain their real value from the time it was set.”

The last adjustment was made in 2021.