To further enhance the effectiveness of merger control and address practical enforcement issues identified under the existing framework, significant amendments have been introduced to the Rules on the Submission and Review of Merger Notifications, approved by Order N 39 of the Chairman of the Agency.

Under the previous regulatory framework, a pre-merger notification obligation did not arise if the combined turnover of the undertakings directly participating in the concentration and their immediate controlling and/or controlled entities fell below the statutory thresholds. This exemption applied even if the aggregate turnover of other undertakings under the common control of the same parent entity exceeded those prescribed thresholds. To ensure that the turnover assessment comprehensively captures the economic reality of the corporate groups involved, the amendments modify the calculation of aggregate turnover.

For the purposes of merger control, the assessment will now take into full account the turnover generated by all undertakings controlled by the ultimate controlling entity of a party to the concentration. Following the adopted amendments, the updated Rules explicitly define the scope of undertakings constituting the parties to a concentration.

Furthermore, the Rules have been supplemented with provisions introducing the possibility of pre-notification consultations with the party or parties to a concentration, setting out the specific procedures governing such consultations.