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Antitrust for Small and Middle Size Undertakings and Image Protection from Non-Competitors pp 65–78Cite as

Croatia

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Abstract

Croatian competition law does not include a separate legal definition of SME. However, several Croatian laws include provisions that could serve as a definition of SME. First, the Croatian Act on Development Incentives for Small Economy defines that an undertaking belongs to the “small economy” if the following criteria are met: (1) the average annual number of employees is less than 250, (2) the undertaking is independent (i.e., generally there is no single or joint shareholding exceeding 25 % from the entities that do not meet the criteria for “small economy”), and (3) its aggregate annual turnover is less than HRK 216,000,000.00 (approximately EUR 29 million) or the value of the aggregate assets is less than HRK 108,000,000.00 (approximately EUR 14.5 million).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009, 80/2013.

  2. 2.

    Act on Development Incentives for Small Economy, Official gazette, nos. 29/2002, 63/2007, 53/2012 and 56/2013, Article 2.

  3. 3.

    Act on Development Incentives for Small Economy, Official gazette, nos. 29/2002, 63/2007, 53/2012 and 56/2013, Article 3.

  4. 4.

    Accountancy Act, Official gazette, no. 109/2007, 125/2011 and 54/2013, Article 3.

  5. 5.

    Program of Incentives to Small and Medium Size Entrepreneurs 2008-2012, Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Craft; available at http://eobrazovanje.mingorp.hr.

  6. 6.

    See Sect. 4.1.1.1.

  7. 7.

    Agencija za Zaštitu Tržišnog Natjecanja (AZTN), available at http://www.aztn.hr/.

  8. 8.

    See Sect. 4.2.3.

  9. 9.

    It should be noted that based on the publicly accessible data, it is not possible to conclusively establish that a certain company qualifies as “small economy” within the meaning of the Act on Development Incentives for Small Economy. Consequently, we have prepared Table 4.1 based on our reasonable assessment, and it is illustrative only.

  10. 10.

    See Sect. 4.1.1.2.

  11. 11.

    Croatian Chamber of Economy (Sector for Industry) v Prirodni Plin Ltd (Natural Gas LLC) of 5 April 2012, class: UP/I 030-02/2011-01/038, no. 580-05/63-2012-131.

  12. 12.

    See Sect. 4.2.4.

  13. 13.

    Regulation on Agreements of Minor Importance, Official gazette, no. 9/2011, available at http://www.aztn.hr/trzisno-natjecanje/29/croatian-legislation/.

  14. 14.

    Regulation on Block Exemption for Agreements in Transport Sector, Official gazette, no. 78/2011; Regulation on Block Exemption for Insurance Agreements, Official gazette, no. 78/2011; Regulation on Block Exemption for Horizontal Agreements between Undertakings, Official gazette, no. 72/2011; Regulation on Block Exemption for Agreements on Distribution and Servicing of Motor Vehicles, Official gazette, no. 37/2011; Regulation on Block Exemption for Vertical Agreements between Undertakings, Official gazette, no. 37/2011; and Regulation on Block Exemption for Technology Transfer Agreements, Official gazette, no. 9/2011, available at http://www.aztn.hr/trzisno-natjecanje/29/croatian-legislation/.

  15. 15.

    See Sect. 4.2.4.

  16. 16.

    See Sect. 4.3.2.

  17. 17.

    Act on Obligations, Official gazette nos. 35/2005 and 41/2008, Article 19.

  18. 18.

    Act on Obligations, Official gazette nos. 35/2005 and 41/2008, Article 1100.

  19. 19.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009 and 80/2013, Article 47.

  20. 20.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009 and 80/2013, in force as of 1 October 2010 and Regulation on Immunity from Fines and Reduction of Fines, Official gazette, no. 129/2010, available in English at http://www.aztn.hr/trzisno-natjecanje/29/croatian-legislation/.

  21. 21.

    There are no reported leniency decisions and only few report commitment decisions.

  22. 22.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009 and 80/2013, Article 37 ff.

  23. 23.

    The Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/09 and 80/2013, entered into force on 1 October 2010.

  24. 24.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, no. 122/203.

  25. 25.

    Decision of the Misdemeanour Court in Zagreb no. XX-G-12118-05 of 30 November 2007.

  26. 26.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009 and 80/2013, Article 13.

  27. 27.

    It is often reported in the media that various suppliers, not only SME suppliers, face significant obstacles with access to larger retail chains.

  28. 28.

    E.g., along the lines of Article 3, German Act Against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen), available at http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gwb/index.html.

  29. 29.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009 and 80/2013.

  30. 30.

    Civil Procedure Act, Official gazette, nos. 4/1977, 36/1977, 6/1980, 36/1980, 43/1982, 69/1982, 58/1984, 74/1987, 57/1989, 20/1990, 27/1990, 35/1991, 53/1991, 91/1992, 112/1999, 88/2001, 84/2008, 123/2008, 57/2011, 148/2011 and 25/2013.

  31. 31.

    Competition Act, Official gazette, nos. 79/2009 and 80/2013, Article 69.

  32. 32.

    Act on Obligations, Official gazette, nos. 35/2005, 41/2008 and 25/2011, Article 80 ff.

  33. 33.

    Generally, any natural person or legal entity has standing to sue or be sued before the Croatian courts. In specific circumstances, standing is given even to groups or associations that do not have legal personality (Civil Procedure Act, Official gazette, nos. 4/1977, etc., Article 77).

  34. 34.

    Civil Procedure Act, Official gazette, nos. 4/1977, etc., Article 206 ff.

  35. 35.

    Bukovac Puvača M, Butorac V (2008) Izvanugovorna odgovornost za štetu prouzročenu povredom pravila tržišnog natjecanja. Hrvatska pravna revija 12:32-54 (in English: Liability in Tort for Infringements of Competition Law).

  36. 36.

    Act on Obligations, Official gazette, nos. 35/2005, 41/2008 and 125/2011, Article 1092.

  37. 37.

    Civil Procedure Act, Official gazette, nos. 4/1977, etc., Article 7.

  38. 38.

    Civil Procedure Act, Official gazette, nos. 4/1977, etc., Articles 233 and 234.

  39. 39.

    Civil Procedure Act, Official gazette, nos. 4/1977, etc., Article 233(5).

  40. 40.

    Consumer Protection Act, Official gazette nos. 79/2007, 125/2007, 79/2009, 89/2009, 78/2012 and 56/2013, opens a possibility for collective redress for violations of consumer’s rights (Article 131). The authority to institute appropriate proceedings is awarded to, inter alia, consumer’s association. However, it appears that this mechanism would not cover competition cases and certainly could not result in award of damages.

  41. 41.

    Croatian Chamber of Economy (Sector for Industry) v Prirodni Plin Ltd (Natural Gas LLC) of 5 April 2012, class: UP/I 030-02/2011-01/038, no. 580-05/63-2012-131.

  42. 42.

    See Sect. 4.1.1.2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Babić & Partners, Zagreb, Croatia

    Boris Andrejaš

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  1. Boris Andrejaš
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Correspondence to Boris Andrejaš .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geneva, Switzerland

    Pranvera Këllezi

  2. Addleshaw Goddard, London, United Kingdom

    Bruce Kilpatrick

  3. Etude Hirsch Kobel, Geneva, Switzerland

    Pierre Kobel

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Andrejaš, B. (2014). Croatia. In: Këllezi, P., Kilpatrick, B., Kobel, P. (eds) Antitrust for Small and Middle Size Undertakings and Image Protection from Non-Competitors. LIDC Contributions on Antitrust Law, Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54000-4_4

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