Out-Law News 1 min. read
23 Aug 2010, 9:50 am
The guidance aims to increase transparency about how the OFT handles all stages of Competition Act investigations, from the opening of a case through to the final outcome.
The Competition Act 1998 prohibits agreements preventing, restricting or distorting competition in the UK as well as certain anti-competitive conduct by undertakings holding a dominant position. The OFT is responsible for applying these prohibitions.
The draft guidance explains how the OFT conducts its prioritisation assessment in taking cases forward and explains its internal governance in scrutinising investigations.
The draft guidance also proposes new initiatives aimed at encouraging the submission of "well-reasoned" complaints about potential breaches of competition law.
It offers informal discussions with potential complainants before they submit a substantiated complaint, similar to the OFT's approach in Merger cases. "Pre-complaint discussions may be helpful to businesses in deciding whether to commit the necessary time and effort in preparing a reasoned complaint," says the guidance.
The guidance also includes a commitment to reach a decision on whether to formally open a case within four months of receiving a substantiated complaint – though this will depend on the timely co-operation of the complainant, and amount and quality of information.
OFT Senior Director of Policy Cavendish Elithorn said the guidance should give businesses more clarity about its investigations. The OFT also hopes to encourage more businesses to submit complaints.
"By offering informal discussions on potential complaints and consistently faster decisions about whether to open an investigation, we hope to encourage and enable firms to come to us with legitimate, well argued cases," said Elithorn.
The OFT is consulting on the draft guidance until 12th November.
Editor's note, 24/08/2010: When this story first appeared, we referred and linked to the wrong OFT guidance. We apologise for that error.
