BRUSSELS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Companies found guilty of operating price-fixing cartels are to face far larger fines as the EU revised its competition regulations on Wednesday.

    The EC, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), announced here on Wednesday that it has revised the regulations to elevate antitrust fine limits in a bid to deter those companies who form cartels or abuse a monopoly.

    EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said the three main changes -- the new "entry fee," the link between the fine and the duration of the crime, and the increase for repeat offenders -- send three clear signals to companies.

    "Don't break the antitrust rules; if you do, stop it as quickly as possible, and once you've stopped, don't do it again," she said in a statement.

    "If companies do not pay attention to these signals, they will pay a very high price."

    These new fine limits will apply to every company charged with antitrust abuse after the new guidelines are published in the next two months.

    The EC raised the threshold for maximum fines to 30 percent of a company's annual sales for every year it broke EU law -- up from the current limit of 10 percent of total annual turnover.

    EU regulators said part of the fine -- an "entry fee" may also be charged, no matter how long the company violated EU rules.

    This fee would be based on 15 percent to 25 percent of yearly sales during the entire time span of the illegal behavior. It will apply to cartels and to other types of antitrust abuse, they said.

    Repeat offenders will also face higher fines than in the past. Until now, the commission has increased fines by 50 percent but now it will be able to charge as much as 100 percent more.

    "Each prior infringement will justify an increase of the fine," it said. "Multiple offenders will therefore be fined more heavily."

    The EC also expands the prior convictions it will take into account, looking at decisions made by national regulators applying EU antitrust law as well as its own decisions.

    The new guidelines do not affect an existing leniency program that can cut or exempt companies from fines if they blow the whistle on a cartel. Enditem