The US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division can now retain excess merger filing fees, signaling a major shift in how antitrust enforcement is funded. The change is part of a $12 million dollar funding increase, enacted on January 23, and allows the Antitrust Division to spend all the pre-merger filing notification fees it collects.
McCarter partner and former DOJ antitrust attorney, Robin Crauthers, spoke with The National Law Journal and said that tying funding to Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) fees could be risky given their volatility. If there were an economic downturn there would be fewer mergers, less revenue in fees, and a smaller budget for the agency, she said.
Robin noted that the department could not rely on earning a surplus of filing fees year after year, so the excess funding is unlikely to be used for staffing or more permanent projects. “It would be my speculation that it’s put toward projects that can be limited in time or scope,” she said.