MADRID, March 24, 2026 — Spain’s competition authority has updated its guidance on how it calculates fines for breaches of antitrust rules, including new provisions covering penalties for company executives.
The National Commission on Markets and Competition said the revised guidelines reflect its enforcement practice in recent years and incorporate criteria established by court rulings.
The updated document replaces provisional guidance issued in 2018 after Spain’s Supreme Court of Spain annulled the sanctioning methodology previously adopted by the former competition regulator in 2009.
Under the revised framework, the methodology for calculating fines for companies remains unchanged. The authority first determines a sanction rate and applies it to the infringing company’s total global turnover. The resulting amount is then assessed to ensure the penalty is proportionate and sufficiently deterrent.
A key new element is the inclusion of a dedicated section explaining how fines may be imposed on company executives involved in competition law violations. The guidance reflects criteria developed through case law and aims to clarify the authority’s approach to individual liability.
The regulator has the power to sanction practices such as collusion, abuse of dominance and unfair competition under Spain’s competition law and EU antitrust rules.
These infringements are prohibited under Articles 1, 2 and 3 of Spain’s Law 15/2007 on the Defence of Competition as well as Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The authority said the guidelines describe the method it generally uses to determine sanctions but noted that alternative approaches may be applied when necessary, provided they are properly justified.
Source: https://www.cnmc.es/prensa/actualizacion-indicaciones-multas-competencia-20260324?back=news
