Pursuant to Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and the corresponding provisions of Law 19/2012 of May 8 establishing the Portuguese Competition Law:

• agreements between undertakings, concerted practices between undertakings, and decisions by associations of undertakings which have as their object or effect the appreciable prevention, distortion or restriction of competition are prohibited;
• undertakings holding a dominant position on a given market are prohibited from abusing that position.

Compliance Actions

All companies, regardless of size, must comply with the competition rules. Defining and implementing an effective compliance strategy enables companies to minimize the risks of breach of competition rules and lower the costs of infringements. 

Cartels, Bid rigging, Leniency Program

Agreements and concerted practices between competing undertakings, which consist, in particular of price fixing, allocation of production or sales quotas, and sharing of markets, including concerted practices in public procurement, are unlawful. 

The leniency program allows those who provide the authorities with certain information on such practices to benefit from a waiver or reduction of the fine imposed on them. Companies, their directors and managers, wishing to benefit from the leniency program must, as appropriate, submit a leniency application to the European Commission or to the Portuguese Competition Authority.

Searches

Both the European Commission and the Portuguese Competition Authority have broad investigative powers, including the power to conduct searches on company premises and even in the private homes of their directors. 

Settlement Procedure

The settlement procedure allows those targeted by the investigations of the European Commission or of the Portuguese Competition Authority to benefit from a reduction in the fine imposed on them. This is an increasingly used procedure by the authorities and entities involved.