Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) have always appreciated cooperation. Unbelievable as it may sound, as you can see in our article, GVH does not always aim for high fines.
The procedure for negotiating a settlement was introduced in 2014 and it is applicable whenever there is an ongoing competition supervision proceeding. If companies cooperate with the Hungarian Competition Authority in good faith, in full and continuously throughout the competition supervision proceeding, they may expect fine reductions. Beside cooperation it is important that the company terminates its part in the infringement immediately and it does not share any evidence related to the procedure with third parties.
In this case fine reduction may be applied for but the company shall admit the fact of infringement. The procedure ends with admitting the infringement but the final amount of the fine could be reduced.
There is also a way to avoid fines at all. In this special case companies take commitments to comply with the law. The competition council could make the commitment obligatory if it helps the effective protection of the general good. In this case neither infringement nor non-existence of infringement is declared and the competition council terminates the procedure.
Commitments are only applicable in case where a case-handler ordered the procedure, it cannot be applied in case of dawn raids or concentrations of undertakings completed against prohibition. If a company does not fulfil its commitment, the competition council withdraws its order and imposes a fine on the company
To sum up: do not panic if GVH investigates your company. Knowing the rules and cooperating will help you get out of the woods.