Competition (Amendment) Act 2022
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PART 2 Amendments to Principal Act - relevant competition law | ||
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Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act | ||
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4. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended— | ||
(a) by the insertion of the following definitions in subsection (1): | ||
“‘Act of 2002’ means the Communications Regulation Act 2002 ; | ||
‘Act of 2014’ means the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 ; | ||
‘Article 16(1) periodic penalty payment’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 15AD; | ||
‘Article 16(2) periodic penalty payment’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 15AD; | ||
‘administrative sanctions’ means the following sanctions imposed by an adjudication officer under Part 2D— | ||
(a) structural or behavioural remedies, | ||
(b) administrative financial sanctions under section 15AA, or | ||
(c) periodic penalty payments, | ||
and ‘administrative sanctions proceedings’ shall be interpreted accordingly; | ||
‘breach of a procedural requirement’ refers to any of the following contraventions by an undertaking, or by an association of undertakings, of an obligation or requirement imposed by a competent authority in connection with an investigation under Part 2C: | ||
(a) obstructing or impeding the exercise by— | ||
(i) an authorised officer, within the meaning of the Act of 2014, of a power referred to in section 37 or 37A of that Act, or | ||
(ii) an authorised officer, within the meaning of the Act of 2002, of a power referred to in section 39 or 39A of that Act; | ||
(b) breaking a seal affixed by an authorised officer, within the meaning of the Act of 2002 or the Act of 2014, as the case may be, or other accompanying person authorised or appointed by the competent authority, for the purpose of securing any document, record, data equipment, computer or place referred to in— | ||
(i) section 37(2)(c) of the Act of 2014, or | ||
(ii) section 39(3B)(c) of the Act of 2002; | ||
(c) giving a false or misleading answer, failing to answer without reasonable excuse, refusing to provide a complete answer to, or otherwise failing to comply with, a requirement referred to in— | ||
(i) section 37(2) of the Act of 2014, or | ||
(ii) section 39(3B) of the Act of 2002; | ||
(d) providing false, incomplete or misleading information, or failing, without reasonable excuse, to supply information, including books, documents and records, in the power or control of the undertaking or association of undertakings within the time limit specified by the competent authority— | ||
(i) in response to an examination, requirement or notice referred to in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of section 18(1) or section 37A of the Act of 2014, or | ||
(ii) in response to a requirement under section 38A of the Act of 2002; | ||
(e) failing without reasonable excuse to attend before the competent authority in response to— | ||
(i) a summons referred to in section 18(1)(a) of the Act of 2014, | ||
(ii) a requirement referred to in section 37A of the Act of 2014, or | ||
(iii) a requirement under section 38A of the Act of 2002; | ||
‘bid-rigging’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 4; | ||
‘cartel’ means an agreement or concerted practice between two or more competing undertakings aimed at coordinating their competitive behaviour on the market or influencing the relevant parameters of competition through practices including the following: | ||
(a) the fixing or coordination of purchase or selling prices or other trading conditions, including in relation to intellectual property rights; | ||
(b) the allocation of production or sales quotas; | ||
(c) the sharing of markets; | ||
(d) the sharing of customers; | ||
(e) bid-rigging; | ||
(f) restrictions of imports or exports; | ||
(g) anti-competitive actions against other competing undertakings; | ||
‘commercially sensitive information’ means information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to— | ||
(a) substantially and materially prejudice or harm the commercial, financial or industrial interests of the undertaking or person to which it relates, | ||
(b) substantially prejudice or harm any other interests of a person in the conduct of the person’s business, profession or occupation, or | ||
(c) substantially prejudice or harm the interests of the State or a public body (within the meaning of section 28N(5) ); | ||
‘Directive’ means Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 20182 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market; | ||
‘enforcement proceedings’ means proceedings before an adjudication officer or court for the application of relevant competition law, but does not include proceedings— | ||
(a) that are closed by the competent authority under this Act, | ||
(b) in relation to which the competent authority has concluded that there are no grounds for further action, or | ||
(c) in relation to which the European Commission has made a decision under Chapter III of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 20023 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty; | ||
‘hearing requirement’ means a requirement imposed by an adjudication officer on an undertaking or association of undertakings under section 15V or 15W; | ||
‘hearing requirement periodic penalty payment’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 15AD; | ||
‘notified undertaking’ means an undertaking, or an association of undertakings, as the case may be, to which a prohibition notice has been issued; | ||
‘periodic penalty payment’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 15AD and, where used without qualification, includes an Article 16(1) periodic penalty payment, an Article 16(2) periodic penalty payment and a hearing requirement periodic penalty payment; | ||
‘prohibition notice’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 15H; | ||
‘relevant competition law’ means any of the following provisions: | ||
(a) section 4; | ||
(b) section 5; | ||
(c) Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; | ||
(d) Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; | ||
‘relevant Minister’ shall be interpreted in accordance with section 52(3); | ||
‘relevant recipient’, in relation to a statement of objections, means an undertaking or an association of undertakings, as the case may be, on which the statement of objections has been served; | ||
‘settlement submission’ means a submission by, or on behalf of, an undertaking to a competent authority— | ||
(a) describing the undertaking’s acknowledgement of, or renouncing any right of the undertaking to dispute its participation in, an infringement of relevant competition law and its responsibility for that infringement, and | ||
(b) made for the purpose of requesting that the competent authority make a referral, in relation to that infringement, referred to in section 15L(5)(d); | ||
‘structural or behavioural remedy’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 15Z;”, | ||
and | ||
(b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “authorised officer” in subsection (1): | ||
“‘authorised officer’— | ||
(a) in relation to the functions performed by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2014, and | ||
(b) in relation to the functions performed by the Commission for Communications Regulation under this Act, has the same meaning it has in section 39 of the Act of 2002;”. | ||