Any company or person may file a complaint with the Turkish Competition Authority (the "Competition Authority") about allegedly anti-competitive conduct. If the complaint is out of order, the Competition Authority (i) expressly refuses the complaint or (ii) does not react within 30 calendar days (in the latter case the complaint is deemed as being rejected).
In the case that the Competition Authority considers it necessary to conduct a further examination into the allegations, it launches a preliminary investigation. In the preliminary investigation process, the case handlers assigned by the Competition Authority are entitled to request information and conduct dawn raids (unannounced on-the-spot inspections). The case handlers submit the preliminary report, which includes (i) all information and evidence obtained during their preliminary investigation and (ii) their opinion on the matter/issue, to the Turkish Competition Board (the "Board"). They are required to finalize and submit their report within 30 calendar days after the Board appoints them.
The Board may decide (i) not to launch an investigation and to refuse application/complaint or (ii) to launch an investigation within ten days following the case handlers' submission of their report. Even if the Board decides not to launch a full-fledged investigation; it may order the relevant parties to fulfill certain structural or behavioral remedies (such as amending contract provisions that violate the law). If the Board decides to initiate a full-fledged investigation, it sends a notice to the companies concerned within 15 calendar days. The Board is also entitled to ex officio launch an investigation into the conduct of a company.
Also, as per the newly-designed commitment mechanism under Article 43 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, undertakings may voluntarily offer commitments during a preliminary investigation to eliminate the Authority's competition law concerns and to end the investigation process before starting (Şişecam, 21.10.2021, 21-51/712-354).