Significant Amendments to the Montenegrin Competition Law Framework Expected
In February 2026, the Montenegrin Ministry of Economic Development (ʺMinistryʺ) adopted the proposal of amendments (ʺAmendmentsʺ) to the Montenegrin Law on Protection of Competition (ʺLawʺ). The aim of the Amendments is to further strengthen Montenegro’s competition law framework and ensure its full alignment with the EU acquis as part of Montenegro’s EU accession process.
According to the Ministry, the Amendments are intended to enhance the powers and effectiveness of the Montenegrin Agency for Protection of Competition (ʺAgencyʺ), particularly in relation to investigations, evidence gathering and enforcement of competition rules.
The Amendments are expected to be adopted by the Montenegrin Parliament soon.
The most important changes are presented below.
1. More Efficient Merger Control Procedure
The Amendments are expected to significantly accelerate merger control proceedings in Montenegro. Due to the relatively lengthy statutory review periods, even Phase I proceedings have so far typically taken around four months. The key changes relating to the merger control procedure include the following:
- The current 15-day deadline for filing a merger notification will be abolished. Under the Amendments, parties will no longer be required to notify a concentration within a specific deadline following the signing of the transaction act. However, the standstill obligation will continue to apply, meaning that the transaction may not be implemented prior to obtaining clearance from the Agency.
- The Phase I review period will be significantly shortened. Instead of the current deadline of 105 working days, the Agency will be required to issue its decision within 30 calendar days from the date a complete notification is received.
- The Agency will be required to issue a formal confirmation of completeness, confirming that the notification is complete and specifying the date from which it is deemed complete. This date will mark the starting point of the 30-day Phase I review period.
- In cases where the Agency opens a Phase II investigation, a final decision must be adopted within four months. It is important to note that this deadline will count from the date of submission of the notification rather than from the date on which the notification is deemed complete or the Phase II proceedings are initiated.
- The merger control (jurisdictional) thresholds remain unchanged. However, the Amendments clarify that only the revenues generated from the sale of goods and/or the provision of services are relevant for establishing whether the jurisdictional thresholds are exceeded.
2. Abolishment of Notification-Based Individual Exemption
The Amendments introduce important changes to the current system of individual exemptions for restrictive agreements that do not qualify for automatic (group) exemption. Under the existing legal framework, undertakings wishing to benefit from an individual exemption must notify their agreement to the Agency and obtain its approval in advance. The key changes in this regard include the following:
- The current notification-based system for obtaining individual exemptions will be abolished. Undertakings will no longer be required to notify restrictive agreements to the Agency in order to benefit from an exemption.
- Instead, the Amendments introduce a self-assessment regime alike the one in EU, under which undertakings will be responsible for assessing whether their agreements satisfy the conditions for individual exemption under the Montenegrin equivalent of Article 101(3) TFEU.
- The Amendments also establish that, where the Agency opens an investigation in relation to a restrictive agreement, the burden of demonstrating that a restrictive agreement fulfils the conditions for an individual exemption rests with the parties to the agreement.
3. Strengthening of Agency’s Enforcement Powers
The Amendments introduce several clarifications and procedural changes relating to antitrust proceedings and the Agency’s investigative powers during dawn raids. The key changes include the following:
- The Amendments introduce detailed procedural rules concerning the leniency programme.
- The Amendments allow the Agency, subject to prior authorisation from the Administrative Court of Montenegro, to conduct inspections of premises, land and vehicles not belonging to the undertaking under investigation, including private premises of directors, managers and employees, where relevant business records may reasonably be expected to be found.
- The Amendments clarify that the Agency may review business documentation irrespective of the medium in which it is stored.
- The Amendments also expressly provide that, where business documentation is temporarily seized for the purpose of copying, the Agency may continue the examination, copying or scanning of such documentation at its premises, but only in the presence of the legal representative of the undertaking concerned.
- The limitation period for opening investigation is increased from two to three years.
4. Fines
The Amendments introduce important changes to the system of fines for competition law infringements and procedural fines. The key changes include the following:
- The current Law prescribes fines ranging from 1% to 10% of an undertaking’s turnover for competition law infringements. The Amendments remove the minimum threshold of 1% and clarify that fines may be imposed in an amount of up to 10% of the undertaking’s total worldwide annual turnover.
- The Amendments introduce higher sanctions for procedural infringements. Instead of fines ranging from EUR 4,000 to EUR 40,000 under the current regime, undertakings may, under the Amendments, face fines of up to 1% of their total worldwide annual turnover.
- Procedural fines may be imposed in cases such as obstruction of a dawn raid, abuse of privileged communication, failure to provide requested information, provision of incorrect, incomplete or misleading information in the merger notification, or implementation of a concentration prior to obtaining clearance from the Agency (i.e., gun-jumping).
Conclusion
The Amendments introduce significant changes to Montenegro’s antitrust framework. They clarify several rules governing the day-to-day application of competition law and reduce the administrative burden - most notably by abolishing the notification-based individual exemption regime and substantially shortening the merger control procedure. At the same time, the Amendments strengthen the Agency’s enforcement powers. Given the rapid alignment with the EU acquis and the intensity of EU accession activity, this is likely the last reminder (and opportunity) for businesses to familiarise themselves with and ensure compliance with Montenegro’s competition rules.
