Handling of Complaints Initial assessment

Handling of Complaints Initial assessment

Handling of Complaints: Initial assessment

The initial assessment serves the purpose of screening the admissible complaints for those which seem most to merit being further investigated by the Commission.

More about Handling of Complaints Initial assessment

The Commission will endeavour to inform complainants of the action that it proposes to take on a complaint within an indicative time frame of four months from the receipt of the complaint. 1 This is, however, subject to the circumstances of the individual case and is, in particular, dependent on whether DG Competition has received sufficient information from the complainant or third parties, notably in response to its requests for information, in order for it to decide whether or not it intends to investigate the case further.

More about the Subject

The Commission can undertake preliminary investigations in order to assess whether the case should be a priority. The investigations could look for example for prima facie indications of the alleged infringement and try to determine a possible theory of harm.

Other Considerations

As a result of the initial assessment, a clear direction should be found on whether the complaint: – is a potential case for further investigation by the Commission; – should be re-allocated to an NCA; – contains insufficient grounds for acting.

Resources

See Also

References

  • Information about Handling of Complaints Initial assessment in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Notes


[Note 1]
Notice on the handling of complaints, paragraph 61.

Further Reading

  • Information about Handling of Complaints Initial assessment in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)

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