After obtaining the investigation clues, the antimonopoly law enforcement agencies usually first carry out “surprise inspections”, such as checking or searching the business premises at unexpected times for the operators under investigation to obtain the most powerful evidence. When operators encounter surprise inspections, they must pay attention to the following points:

1. Be polite and polite, and not forget to check the identity of law enforcement personnel and relevant law enforcement documents while receiving them warmly;

2. Timely contact the relevant responsible personnel of the company, even the lawyer to assist;

3. Ask for the names and contact information of the investigators in time for further communication;

4. Seek truth from facts, carefully answer the questions of the investigators, but do not refuse to answer the questions to avoid hindering the investigation;

5. Provide convenience for the investigation, such as assisting in copying or duplicating evidence materials, such as relevant documents, agreements, accounting books, business letters, electronic data, etc;

6. Do not do bad things with kindness, such as refusing reception on the grounds that the investigators did not make an appointment, or destroying evidence by playing tricks.

Antitrust investigation is usually a long process. In the stage of continuous investigation, in addition to actively fulfilling the obligation of cooperation, operators should actively exercise their rights from the following aspects:

1. Organize effective entity defense according to law

For example, it is necessary to provide strong evidence to prove that the vertical agreement signed by itself and the counterpart of the transaction does not constitute the effect of eliminating or restricting competition in the relevant market, so as to help investigators make an objective and fair judgment.

2. Make good use of the procedural rights granted by law

(1) In the process of investigation, the operator applying for exemption can submit relevant materials to the antimonopoly law enforcement authority according to law to explain that the monopoly agreement reached or implemented by itself belongs to the seven situations specified in Article 15 of the Anti monopoly Law, and apply to the antimonopoly law enforcement authority for review.

(2) The second paragraph of Article 46 of the Anti monopoly Law, which applies for the right of voluntary surrender, stipulates that “if the operator who has reached or implemented the monopoly agreement voluntarily reports to the antimonopoly enforcement authority the relevant information about the conclusion of the monopoly agreement and provides important evidence, the antimonopoly enforcement authority may, at its discretion, reduce or exempt the punishment on the operator”. Accordingly, the operator may, before the commencement of the antimonopoly investigation After the commencement and before the decision is made, take the initiative to report relevant information and provide relevant evidence to the antimonopoly law enforcement agency, so as to obtain mitigation or exemption from punishment.

(3) The right to apply for suspension of the investigation According to Article 45 of the Anti monopoly Law, after the commencement of the anti-monopoly investigation and before making the decision to deal with it, the operator under investigation can apply for suspension of the investigation of the case by making a commitment to the anti-monopoly law enforcement agency that it will take specific measures to eliminate the suspected monopoly within a certain period of time.

3. Exercise the right of supervision and reporting according to law

We will make the whole investigation work open and transparent, and ensure that the investigation results are fair and just.

4. Actively exercise the right to relief

Before the law enforcement agency may make a decision on punishment of a large amount, the investigated person has the right to request a hearing; If the person punished refuses to accept the administrative penalty decision made by the antimonopoly administrative law enforcement agency, he has the right to file an administrative review or directly file an administrative lawsuit.

Lawyer Wang Fen

Graduated from the Northwest Institute of Political Science and Law, Economic Law Department, with nearly 10 years of legal service experience, and high customer satisfaction;

Advocate that the law should serve the business, be able to go deep into the frontline of the consulting unit, and provide the consulting unit with operable and valuable services that can pre control risks;

It can independently research and develop topics and provide daily legal training for enterprises, including labor law, contract law, shareholder disputes, intellectual property rights and competition law.