Kazakhstan's Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition is preparing a sweeping reform of antitrust legislation that will change the rules of the game for business. The regulator is abandoning its "soft law" approach, extending the base investigation period from three to nine months with the possibility of a further three-month extension, introducing turnover fines of 0.5% of violators' annual revenue, and offering immunity to those who confess to price collusion, infohub.kz reports.
The agency's chairman, Marat Omarov, announced the plans at the XVI Kazakhstan Legal Forum in Almaty.
The changes were prompted by recommendations from an OECD Expert Review. International experts concluded that an excessive reliance on preventive measures — notifications and warnings — had significantly weakened the deterrent effect of punishment. As a result, companies grew accustomed to the idea that a first violation would not trigger tough sanctions and that cases could be closed voluntarily and painlessly.
To correct this imbalance, the agency will shorten the list of violations subject to soft warnings and completely eliminate their use in highly concentrated markets. In addition, the repeat-offense window will be extended from one year to two.
"Another change concerns the Leniency program. It is proposed to drop the requirement that the agency have no information about the cartel before an application is filed, as well as the mandatory prior compensation of all damages. The first participant to voluntarily expose a cartel and admit the violation will be able to receive full immunity from liability," the agency said.
The reform also introduces collective lawsuits to compensate victims harmed by monopolists, excluding only the financial sector and the securities market from the scheme.
To provide preventive protection for businesses, an antitrust audit will be introduced, allowing companies to engage outside experts to independently identify and remedy violations without the risk of a fine.
The agency is paying particular attention to digital platforms and marketplaces. They will be subject to special regulation based on the number of users, sellers and revenue, and restrictions will be placed on dynamic pricing.
The agency itself is already going digital: the launched Antitrust system and three AI solutions help antitrust officials analyze tariffs, detect collusion in public procurement and review regulatory acts.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Kazhydromet may be required to earn its own revenue. Most of the services the company provides are currently a state monopoly.