Honduras 2006

Score = 19

Governed by: The Law for the Defense and Promotion of Competition, Decree no. 527-2005 of November 26, 2005, entered into force in January 2006 (hereinafter referred to as “Competition Act”)

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	Article 4 states that the scope of the law extends to those whose activities have an effect within the national territory of Honduras.
Remedies	Fines	1	Articles 37-39, 41 deal with fines.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	1	Article 19(1) allows total or partial divestitures of improper mergers.
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	Article 49 allows outside parties to file complaints with the authority.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	1	Article 58 allows all concerned parties to seek damages through civil actions.
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	0
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	Article 13 requires mandatory notification of intended concentrations although prior verification is generally voluntary.
	Pre-merger	2	Article 13 requires notification to be pre-merger.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	Article 16(1) requires market share of the agents involved in the concentration to be assessed regarding compliance with the law.
	Restriction of Competition	1	Article 12 prohibits concentrations that have the purpose or effect of restricting, reducing, damaging or preventing competition.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	0
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	1	Article 16(4) allows the authority to assess the need for the economic concentration as the only choice to prevent the involved agents' exit from the market.
	Efficiency	1	Article 12 allows for an efficiency defense for concentrations that generate increases in economic efficiency and consumer welfare.
Dominance	Limits Access	0
	Abusive Acts	0
	Price Setting	0
	Discriminatory Pricing	0
	Resale Price Maintenance	1	Article 7(2) prohibits resale price maintenance.
	Obstacles to Entry	0
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 9 allows agreements or behaviors that generate increases in economic efficiency and consumer welfare offseting the negative impact on free competition.
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Article 5(1) states that price fixing is illegal per se.
	Tying	1	Article 7(4) prohibits tying.
	Market Division	1	Article 7(1) prohibits market division.
	Output Restraint	1	Article 7(7) prohibits contracts, agreements, concerted practices or arrangements that limit the production, distribution or technological development by an operator to the detriment of other operators or consumers.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 5(3) states that market sharing is illegal per se.
	Eliminating Competitors	0
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	1	Article 5(4) states that acting in concert to either participate or abstain from tenders, quotations or public auctions is illegal per se.
	Supply Refusal	1	Article 5(2) makes contracts, agreements, concerted practices or arrangements that restrict all or part of the production, distribution, marketing or supply of goods or services illegal per se.
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 9 allows agreements or behaviors that generate increases in economic efficiency and consumer welfare offseting the negative impact on free competition.