National Competition Law Report – Q4 2005 - Switzerland

Policy and Procedure

Notice on De Minimis Exemptions

On December 21 2005, the FCC issued a final Notice on de minimis exemptions to restrictive agreements. The FCC only made formal amendments to the draft notice that had been submitted to public comments on July 2004. Considering that the Notice is based on recent amendments to the Competition Act, the FCC will assess the effects of the Notice after a two-year periods.

The purpose of the Notice is to identify agreements that have a limited impact on competition and should therefore be excluded from the prohibition on restrictive agreements. It contains specific provisions for small-sized undertakings.

Restrictive agreements would generally fall within the De Minimis Notice provided that three conditions are met: (i) the restrictive agreement aims to improve competitiveness by realizing scale economies, by contributing to innovation, or by creating sales incentives (such as agreements on research and development, production,