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US: 250% fine increases for HSR violations

By  |  July 24, 2016

On June 29 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced substantial increases to the maximum civil penalties for violations of numerous laws and regulations that it enforces. Most notably, the FTC increased the civil penalties for Hart-Scott-Rodino Act violations from $16,000 per day to $40,000 per day. The new penalties are effective as of August 1 2016 and they will apply to any violations that occurred before that date.

The increases were made necessary by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which requires federal agencies to adjust civil penalties for inflation. The last time the FTC increased the maximum fine was in 2009 when it was increased from $11,000 per day to $16,000 per day.

Under the new $40,000 per day maximum fine, a violation that occurred for one year could potentially incur a maximum civil penalty of $14.6 million.

Full Content: Lexology

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