m88 casino app Revision of Legal Liabilities for Gun Jumping in m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law Amendment

On October 23, 2021, m88 casino app Standing Committee of m88 casino app National People's Congress (NPCSC) released m88 casino app draft Amendment of m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law for public consultation and held m88 casino app first deliberation on November 9, 2021. m88 casino app second deliberation was held from June 21 to 24, 2022. m88 casino app NPCSC announced m88 casino app adoption of m88 casino app Amendment of m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law (m88 casino appNew AML) on June 24, 2022, and it came into force on August 1, 2022.

Article 58 of m88 casino app New AML amends m88 casino app legal liabilities for m88 casino app illegal implementation of a concentration without making notifications subject to m88 casino app law (so-calledgun jumping) in Article 48 of m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law (2008) (m88 casino appOld AML). It significantly increases m88 casino app penalties for gun jumping and categorizes m88 casino app penalties and m88 casino app maximum fines according to m88 casino app nature of such gun jumping. In addition, m88 casino app New AML adds Article 63, which outlines m88 casino app illegal activities (including gun jumping) that are subject to aggravated punishment.

Since late 2020, antitrust enforcement agencies have shown increasingly strict attitudes towards gun jumping, accompanied with an increase in awareness of antitrust compliance. m88 casino app amendments in m88 casino app New AML furm88 casino appr strengm88 casino appn m88 casino app deterrent effect of legal liability of antitrust violations, which encourages undertakings to improve m88 casino appir internal antitrust compliance systems and reduce m88 casino app legal risks of gun jumping.

I. Gun Jumping Actions and Legal Liabilities

m88 casino app legal liabilities for gun-jumping were stipulated in Article 48 of m88 casino app Old AML, while m88 casino app New AML amends it to Article 58 and adds Article 63 which provides m88 casino app scenarios for aggravated punishment.

Compared with m88 casino app Old AML, m88 casino app New AML categorizes m88 casino app penalties for different types of gun jumping actions and significantly increases m88 casino app overall penalties. m88 casino app New AML categorizes m88 casino app penalties according to m88 casino app impact that m88 casino app concentration may have on m88 casino app relevant market. m88 casino app New AML also significantly increases m88 casino app maximum fines and expressly provides that m88 casino app relevant violations will be recorded in m88 casino app enterprise credit record and be publicized. m88 casino app specific amendments are as follows:

Table: Comparison of m88 casino app New AML and m88 casino app Old AML regarding Gun Jumping Liabilities

m88 casino app New AML adds m88 casino app scenarios of aggravated punishment for violations including gun jumping actions, i.e., if violations occur that have serious impacts and consequences, antitrust enforcement agencies can determine m88 casino app specific amount of fines from more than two times but not more than five times m88 casino app amount of m88 casino app fines originally determined.

II. m88 casino app Impact of m88 casino app New AML’s Amendment of m88 casino app Legal Liabilities of Gun Jumping

m88 casino app New AML categorizes m88 casino app penalties for gun jumping and significantly increases m88 casino app penalties, which increases m88 casino app undertakings’ cost for violations. Such amendments reflect m88 casino app principle of proportionality of penalties and help to strengm88 casino appn m88 casino app deterrent effect of m88 casino app antitrust law and prompts undertakings to complete legal and compliant merger filing. m88 casino app expansion of m88 casino app penalty range gives antitrust enforcement agencies broader discretionary power. m88 casino appre are some issues in m88 casino app New AML that need furm88 casino appr clarification, including m88 casino app penalties applied to historical gun jumping cases and m88 casino app application of aggravated punishment. We expect that m88 casino appse issues will be clarified in m88 casino app future enforcement.

1. m88 casino app New AML reflects m88 casino app principle of proportionality of penalties and strengm88 casino appns m88 casino app deterrent effect of legal liabilities for gun jumping

According to m88 casino app Old AML, regardless of whem88 casino appr m88 casino app illegally implemented concentration impacted m88 casino app relevant market or not, m88 casino app antitrust enforcement agencies could order m88 casino app undertaking be restored to m88 casino app status before m88 casino app concentration and impose fines of not more than RMB 500,000, which is a small amount compared to m88 casino app size of most undertakings meeting m88 casino app notification thresholds. To a certain extent, in m88 casino app Old AML, legal liabilities such as restoring m88 casino app status before concentration were not applicable to most of m88 casino app cases and thus existed in name only, while m88 casino app limited amount of m88 casino app fines did not have a sufficient deterrent effect.

After m88 casino app implementation of m88 casino app New AML, depending on m88 casino app actual impact that m88 casino app specific transaction may have on m88 casino app relevant market, gun jumping of different transactions will lead to different legal liabilities. Transactions which have or may have m88 casino app effect of excluding or restricting competition on m88 casino app relevant market will face more severe penalties. m88 casino app maximum fine imposed by antitrust enforcement agencies for gun jumping is significantly increased. For undertakings, m88 casino app fines will constitute a substantial economic loss, and may even have a substantial impact on m88 casino appir daily business activities. m88 casino app New AML also specifies that penalties will be recorded in m88 casino app enterprise’s credit record and be made public, which may have an impact on m88 casino app enterprise’s reputation. For violations including gun jumping, m88 casino app New AML stipulates m88 casino app provision of aggravated punishments, which may furm88 casino appr increase m88 casino app maximum amount of fines. m88 casino apprefore, m88 casino app legal liabilities in m88 casino app New AML will have a stronger deterrent effect on undertakings and will prompt undertakings to raise antitrust compliance awareness and complete merger filing in accordance with m88 casino app law.

2. m88 casino app New AML expands m88 casino app discretionary power of antitrust enforcement agencies

m88 casino app substantially increased maximum fines give antitrust enforcement agencies broader discretionary power. m88 casino app New AML provides that m88 casino app nature, extent, duration and elimination of m88 casino app consequences of m88 casino app violation should be considered in determining m88 casino app amount of m88 casino app fines. Apart from that, m88 casino app New AML does not provide clear criteria. m88 casino apprefore, for antitrust enforcement agencies, m88 casino app above provision lacks furm88 casino appr guidance on m88 casino app penalty standards and m88 casino app specific penalties depend more on m88 casino app actual situation of specific cases, which may give agencies overly broad discretionary powers. For undertakings, it may raise furm88 casino appr difficulties to expect and assess m88 casino app legal liabilities.

Secondly, m88 casino app New AML does not clarify whem88 casino appr m88 casino app penalties in m88 casino app New AML or m88 casino app Old AML should be applied in m88 casino app investigation of historical gun jumping cases. However, according to m88 casino app Provisions on m88 casino app Review of Concentration of Undertakings (Draft for Comments) (m88 casino appDraft Review Provisions), if undertakings take m88 casino app initiative to report violations or eliminate or mitigate harmful consequences, m88 casino app antitrust enforcement agencies shall impose lighter or mitigated penalties at m88 casino appir discretion in accordance with m88 casino app Administrative Penalty Law. If m88 casino app above provision is retained in m88 casino app effective version of m88 casino app Review Provisions, m88 casino app principle will be clarified to a certain extent and m88 casino app Old AML may be applied to m88 casino app gun jumping transactions which were implemented before m88 casino app New AML comes into effect and m88 casino app control status continues after m88 casino app New AML comes into effect. This principle will help undertakings to notify of historical transactions and to take m88 casino app initiative to report and seek leniency.

Thirdly, Article 63 of m88 casino app New AML stipulates aggravated punishment for serious violations. However, m88 casino app New AML does not provide furm88 casino appr guidance or standards for specific scenarios of violations that may apply to aggravated punishment, which may cause difficulty for antitrust enforcement agencies in applying Article 63 to specific cases. Considering that aggravating scenarios or results of gun jumping are relatively low compared to om88 casino appr violations, it is still doubtful in practice whem88 casino appr such aggravated punishment can be applied.

III. Conclusion

m88 casino app Amendment of m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law significantly increases m88 casino app legal liabilities for m88 casino app illegal implementation of a concentration without notification, which reflects China's growing emphasis on antitrust compliance. It provides a clearer basis and guidelines for antitrust agencies’ future enforcements and helps promote undertakings to comply with antitrust rules, conduct notifications and engage in investment and merger transactions in a lawful manner. Currently, m88 casino app Amendment of m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law is in effect, and m88 casino app amendments to m88 casino app subordinate regulations, such as m88 casino app Provisions on m88 casino app Review of Concentration of Undertakings, are in progress and are also expected to come into effect soon in conjunction with m88 casino app Amendment of m88 casino app Anti-Monopoly Law. m88 casino appy will provide better guidelines for m88 casino app application of legal liabilities for m88 casino app illegal implementation of a concentration without legal notification as well as om88 casino appr rules.