With effect from April 18, 2016, the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (the “AOSR”) acquires new powers under the new provisions of Act No. 136/2001 Coll. on Protection of Competition, as amended (this is an indirect change in the act, resulting from an amendment to Act No. 343/2015 Coll. on Public Procurement, as amended).

The AOSR may now specifically sanction companies that have been proven to have participated in bid-rigging anti-competitive practice. In particular, under the amended act, the AOSR has the power to ban a company participating in a bid-rigging cartel from further participation in public procurement procedures in Slovakia for a period of up to three years.

Under the amendment to the act, the ban is not applicable under the leniency procedure. In addition, the length of the ban is shortened to one year if the company agrees to settle with the AOSR under the settlement procedure.