For unfair commercial practices, misleading and unlawful comparative advertising, the new rules empower the Antitrust Authority to launch proceedings also ex-officio, i.e., even when no complaints have been received from external sources. It is endowed with investigatory powers, including the ability to gain access to any pertinent document and to request pertinent documents or information from anyone, the capacity to sanction refusals to cooperate or the transmission of untruthful documentation or information, to conduct inspections, to receive assistance from the Guardia di Finanza (the Italian Tax Police) and to conduct surveys and economic analyses.

Once a violation has been established, the Antitrust Authority may prohibit its continuation and subject the business to pecuniary fines ranging from 5,000 to 500,000 EUR. If the practice involves harmful products or products that could even indirectly threaten the well-being of young children or adolescents, the minimum fine is 50,000 EUR. Fines for non-compliance with Antitrust Authority measures may range from 10,000 to 150,000 EUR. The Antitrust Authority may also prescribe the publication of corrective declarations at the expense of the responsible business.

This is another context in which the application of commitments may come into play. Except in cases of overt unfairness or severity, the Antitrust Authority may decide not to establish a violation if the business commits to eliminating the profiles of unlawfulness attributed to the commercial practice