Kyiv, March 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – MPs have proposed that the Verkhovna Rada should regulate the procedure governing how the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine's (AMC) imposes fines for the violation of laws on protecting economic competition, MP Viktoriya Ptashnyk (Samopomich) said at a press conference, held at Interfax-Ukraine.

According to her, the existing legislation sets a high bar for penalties. In particular, the fine could reach 10% of the company's annual turnover for a serious violation of competition legislation. At the same time, the AMC may impose a fine of UAH one million on one company, and UAH 30,000 on another, for the same violation.

"This is an abnormal practice when employers, in respect of whom a criminal case is opened, by the end of the case do not understand what penalty can be applied to them. We want to ensure the full transparency of the AMCs activities," Ptashnyk said.

A draft law on amendments to the legislation protecting economic competition, regarding the AMC defining the penalties for violations, registered in the Verkhovna Rada, foresees the Cabinet's approving the methods used to calculate fines.

In addition, it is proposed to provide courts with the right to reduce fines defined by the AMC, as at present the courts, if they disagree with the AMC's decision, can only send the case back to the AMC for repeated consideration.

Acting President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Taras Kachka said that in 2008 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recommended that Ukraine implement a clear methodology for imposing fines. He said that the AMC agreed with this, but did nothing.

Ptashnyk said that the adoption of methods for calculating fines is a requirement contained in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. Kachka added that "we have no transition period for this commitment and it must be done by January 1, 2016."

According to founding partner of Arzinger law firm Timur Bondarev, Ukraine has a negative reputation among international companies due to its antitrust laws.

"In our production there are some cases, when violations look quite the same, and penalties are quite different. Often we do not understand how fines are defined," he said.

According to Bondarev, there have been numerous cases when the AMC make statements on the imposition of fines worth UAH one million, but in the end the company only pays a fine of UAH 30,000.

According to Bondarev, Ukrainian antitrust laws have other drawbacks. For example, the AMC may impose a fine of up to 10% of the corporation's entire turnover for violations made by a Ukrainian division of an international corporation.

"Or for violations committed by the company in a specific area, the AMC can impose a fine of a percentage of turnover, including the company's other activities, in which there were no violations," he said.