In short
An on-site inspection by the Competition Board is the examination, at the undertaking's workplace, of books, documents and electronic records. Those who carry out the inspection show an authority document. This visit is not the filing of a complaint petition with the Board. The amount of a fine, and the measure, are not in this article.
The inspection looks at documents on site
The inspection rests on the authority the Board gave. Which unit was visited and which document was seen are written in the minute. The minute does not stand in for the undertaking's own complaint form. When the minute is signed, a room or a file that was not seen should not be written as if it had been seen. An objection is entered in the margin of the minute or in an additional writing.
Electronic mail and files may also be counted as records. The scope is read as limited to the subject in the inspection authority. If the subject in the authority document and the folder that was asked for do not overlap, this difference is written in the minute. The difference does not by itself mean that the inspection will be treated as non-existent. The record is the document of a later objection.
The undertaking may have a lawyer present during the inspection. The lawyer's arrival does not stop the inspection by itself. The officers should not hide a document and should not obstruct the inspection in fact. Obstruction may be the subject of a separate sanction. The measure of the sanction is looked for in the decision. This article does not write an amount.
A complaint is not this visit
A complaint is the application that notifies the Board of an allegation of infringement. That application is in a complaint to the Competition Board. An on-site inspection is the Board using its power of examination on site. Having complained does not mean an inspection will come to the workplace. An inspection having come does not mean the complaint was found justified either.
At the end of the inspection the Board may adopt an act, or it may not. An action about a fine is a separate article: an action against a competition fine. This article does not set the period of that action. The period is in the Board decision that was served.
The minute and the copies
The list of copies taken in the inspection should stand in the minute. If a file that is not on the list is later said to have been "taken", a document of that is asked for. The undertaking keeps its own copy. The copy that was kept is compared with the document in the Board's file. If there is a difference, the difference is notified in writing.
An employee's personal device and the company system are not the same. Which medium was looked at is written in the minute. If it was not written, the undertaking has that added to the minute. While there is no addition, the scope may be treated as widened later. For that reason the minute is read before the inspection day closes.
What is looked at in the inspection
If the workplace is in Ankara, the inspection is carried out at that address. If the company's centre is in another province and the branch is in Ankara, it is looked at which address is written in the authority document. The office being in Çankaya does not change the address of the inspection. Counsel in Ankara first asks for the authority document and the draft minute.
The subject in the document, the units that were entered, and the list of copies are compared. If a folder that stays outside the subject was asked for, that is written in the minute. A signature is not put in order to accept a step that was not seen. Putting the objection to scope into writing, without obstructing the inspection, is a separate piece of conduct. The measure of a fine is read, not in this article, but in the Board's decision if there is one.
If the inspection lasts longer than one day, a separate minute, or an additional page of the same minute, should be kept for each day. Which document was copied on which day is followed from this record. If there is no record, the undertaking asks the next day whether the folder that was asked for was inside the previous day's scope. The question is for putting the scope into writing, not for stopping the inspection.
Questions put to employees during the inspection may also be entered in the minute. If the subject of the question exceeds the frame in the authority document, that excess is noted. A note is different from refusing to answer the question. The undertaking may ask, before answering, that the question be written in the minute. If an unwritten statement is later wanted to be used like an admission, a document of it is looked for.
Conclusion
An on-site inspection is looking at documents at the workplace. A complaint writing does not create this visit. Obstruction may be the subject of a separate sanction. The measure is not in this article. The minute kept on the day of the inspection is also the first document of a later Board decision. If the minute is incomplete, the debate about scope grows at the decision stage. For that reason the minute is read before the inspection ends, and if there is a missing page it is completed before signature. The frame is on the commercial law page. The basis is the text of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition.