Spanish Competition Authority Publishes Long-Awaited Guidelines On Calculation Of Fines

On 7 November 2018, the Spanish Competition authority ("CNMC") published a set of provisional guidelines on the calculation of fines for infringements of competition law.

These guidelines are aimed at clarifying the method applied by the CNMC for the calculation of fines after the Spanish Supreme Court declared the fining methodology previously followed by the authority to be partially illegal. In particular, back in 2015, the Supreme Court held that the imposition of fines amounting to 10% of the company's total turnover must not be imposed as a general rule but shall be reserved for the most serious infringements. The Supreme Court added that for less serious infringements, fines should be set at a lower level and should be proportionate to the gravity of the infringement.