Economic Competition Law (Amendment No. 23 and Temporary Provision) Bill

What does the bill do?

Under the law, the prohibition will apply to a direct importer who carried out one of the acts listed in the schedule, if as a result of the act parallel import or personal import may be harmed and as a result competition in the relevant sector may be harmed; if the main purpose of the act is preventing or reducing competition from parallel import or personal import; or if the act may prevent or reduce competition from parallel import or personal import and is not necessary for realizing the main purpose of the import of the goods by the direct importer. In addition, the law authorizes the Minister of Economy and Industry, on the recommendation of the Competition Commissioner and with the approval of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, to change the schedule to the law as stated. Furthermore, the amendment grants the Competition Commissioner the authority to impose a monetary sanction on a direct importer that violates the law's provisions regarding harm to parallel import or personal import. In addition, this law set a temporary provision under which the Competition Commissioner will report to the Economic Affairs Committee once a year, for four years, on the implementation of the amendment's provisions and the enforcement actions taken under them. Furthermore, the law includes an indirect amendment to the Licensing of Services and Professions in the Automotive Industry Law, which was added during the Economic Affairs Committee's deliberations and aims to remove barriers to parallel import of vehicles. Under the indirect amendment, and so that vehicle importers who are parallel importers can receive a customs duty preference like direct importers, a temporary provision was set, in force until June 30, 2025, requiring vehicle importers who are direct importers to provide the Director of Customs with details about the vehicle models they import that have a "certificate of origin." It was further set that the Director of Customs will transfer to the director at the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, who is the regulator of vehicle importers, details about direct importers who did not provide such information, so that enforcement measures can be taken against them under the law. However, the authority to impose monetary sanctions on direct importers who violated the obligation to provide the information will take effect on January 1, 2025.