The Italian Competition Authority (, AGCM) is the competition regulator in Italy. It is an Italian quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization established on the basis of Law âÂÂ287 of 10 October 1990.
As of 2004, the Italian Competition Authority has also been in charge of enforcing laws against conflicts of interest for Holders of Public Office.
As the Italian competition regulator, the Authority has the task of enforcing both Italian and European consumer protection laws.
It is financed by annual allocations through a special chapter of the Ministry of Economic Development's budget. The Financial Law of 2006 introduced partial self-financing: AGCM has full control over the management of these funds for its own operations.
An annual report is presented to the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy.
The main duties of the authority are:
The Authority in such cases may conduct investigations or hearings, even with the Guardia di Finanza at his disposal, which may result in a warning or an administrative penalty.
The Italian Competition Authority is led by a Presidents. In its history the following individuals have held this function:
The Competition Authority works sometimes with the Coordinamento delle associazioni per la difesa dell'ambiente e dei diritti degli utenti e dei consumatori, known in English as the Codacons. It is an organisation with the competence to protect with all legitimate means the rights and dignity of consumers and users. However in a case against Ryanair in 2022, the authority also sanction the Codacons for approving the terms and conditions of Ryanair which the authority found unfair.