SCHEDULE
SCHEDULE
1. Form of application
(1) An application under section 13 or 14 for an agreement to be examined, or under section 21 or 22 for conduct to be considered, shall consist of:
(a)
(a) Form N;
(b)
(b) the copies of Form N required by rule 3 below; and
(c)
(c) the fee payable under rule 6 below.
(2) The documents referred to in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) above shall be submitted to the Director General of Fair Trading, and the fee referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c) above shall be paid in accordance with rule 6 below.
2. Joint applications
Where a joint application is submitted, Form N shall be submitted to the Director General of Fair Trading by or on behalf of all the applicants, and a joint representative may be appointed as authorised to act on behalf of some or all of the applicants for the purposes of these rules.
3. Copies
(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, two copies of Form N, in addition to the original, shall be submitted to the Director General of Fair Trading.
(2) If, in the applicant’s opinion, a regulator, or more than one regulator, has or may have concurrent jurisdiction with the Director General of Fair Trading under Part I, one extra copy of Form N shall be submitted to the Director General of Fair Trading for each such regulator.
(3) Supporting documents submitted as part of Form N shall be either originals or true copies, and the applicant shall certify that each copy is a true copy of the original.
4. Content of application
(1) The information submitted as Form N shall, subject to paragraph (3) below, be correct and complete.
(2) If the applicant considers that the Director would find any part of the information contained in the application to be confidential, in the sense given to that word by sub-paragraph (1)(c) of rule 30 below, he shall set out that part of the information in a separate annex to the application marked “ confidential information” and provide a written explanation as to why he considers that the Director should treat it as such.
(3) The Director General of Fair Trading may, by giving notice in writing to the applicant, dispense with the obligation to submit any particular information, including any supporting document, forming part of Form N, if he considers that such information or document is unnecessary for the examination of the agreement, or the consideration of the conduct, which is the subject of the application.
(4) Where the applicant knows of material changes in the information contained in the application he shall without delay communicate those changes to:
(a)
(a) the Director General of Fair Trading; or
(b)
(b) if the Director General of Fair Trading has informed the applicant, in accordance with regulations made under section 54 (concurrency), that a regulator will be exercising prescribed functions (as defined in such regulations) in relation to the agreement or conduct which is the subject of the application, that regulator.
5. Date of application
(1) Except where paragraph (3) below applies, an application is made (and notification for the purposes of sections 13, 14, 21 or 22, whichever is applicable, is given) on the date on which:
(a)
(a) Form N is received by the Director General of Fair Trading; and
(b)
(b) any fee payable in respect of the application has been paid in accordance with rule 6 below.
(2) The Director General of Fair Trading shall acknowledge receipt of an application by giving notice in writing to the applicant without delay.
(3) Where:
(a)
(a) the Director General of Fair Trading; or
(b)
(b) if the Director General of Fair Trading has informed the applicant, in accordance with regulations made under section 54 (concurrency), that a regulator will be exercising prescribed functions (as defined in such regulations) in relation to the agreement or conduct which is the subject of the application, that regulator,
finds that the information submitted as Form N is incomplete he shall, without delay and in any event within one month from the date on which that information was received by the Director General of Fair Trading and any fee payable in respect of the application has been paid in accordance with rule 6 below, give notice in writing to the applicant of which information, by reference to Annex 1 hereto, is outstanding.
(4) Where the Director has invoked paragraph (3) above he shall give notice in writing to the applicant of such time limit as that Director considers is appropriate for the outstanding information to be received by him.
(5) Where the Director has invoked paragraph (3) above the application shall be made (and notification for the purposes of sections 13, 14, 21 or 22, whichever is applicable, shall be given) on the date on which he receives the outstanding information and any fee payable in respect of the application has been paid in accordance with rule 6 below.
(6) If the Director who has invoked paragraph (3) above has not received the outstanding information by the date of expiry of the time limit notified to the applicant under paragraph (4) above, or of such further period, if any, as he considers appropriate, he shall return the information submitted as Form N to the applicant and shall inform him in writing that his application has not been made in accordance with this rule.
6. Fees for applications
(1) A fee of the amount referred to in paragraph (2) below shall be payable by the applicant in connection with the exercise by the Director of any of the following functions:
(a)
(a) examining an agreement in respect of which an application under section 13 has been made;
(b)
(b) examining an agreement in respect of which an application under section 14 has been made;
(c)
(c) considering conduct in respect of which an application under section 21 has been made; and
(d)
(d) considering conduct in respect of which an application under section 22 has been made.
(2) The amount of the fee payable under paragraph (1) above shall be:
(a)
(a) in a case falling within sub-paragraph (a) or (c) of that paragraph, the amount specified in Part 1 of Annex 2 hereto; and
(b)
(b) in a case falling within sub-paragraph (b) or (d) of that paragraph, the amount specified in Part 2 of Annex 2 hereto.
(3) Where a joint application is submitted the applicants shall be jointly and severally liable for any fee payable in respect of the application.
(4) The fee shall be paid to the Director General of Fair Trading.
(5) The fee shall be payable when Form N is submitted to the Director General of Fair Trading.
(6) The Director General of Fair Trading shall repay the whole of the fee to the applicant if:
(a)
(a) the Director returns the information submitted as Form N to the applicant under rule 5(6) above; or
(b)
(b) the Director determines the application by exercising his discretion not to give guidance or make a decision.
(7) A fee payable under this rule shall be treated as having been paid to the Director General of Fair Trading on the day on which the correct amount of the fee has been transferred to the bank account of the Office of Fair Trading.
7. Notification of application to other parties
Notification by an applicant under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 5 or 6 shall be written and shall be given within seven working days from the date on which the applicant receives acknowledgement of receipt of his application by the Director General of Fair Trading; the applicant shall provide a copy of the notification to the Director General of Fair Trading without delay.
8. Public register
(1) The Director General of Fair Trading shall maintain a register in which there shall be entered, in respect of every application made under section 14 or 22, a summary of the nature and objectives of the agreement or conduct which is the subject of the application (as referred to in Part 4 of Annex 1 hereto) and an indication of the final outcome of the application.
(2) The register shall be open to public inspection:
(a)
(a) at the Office of Fair Trading, between 10.00 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. on every working day; and
(b)
(b) on the Office of Fair Trading’s website on the Internet.
9. Provisional decision
(1) If the Director proposes to make a provisional decision he shall consult the applicant and those persons whom the applicant has identified in the application as being the other parties to the agreement, or the other persons, if any, who are engaged in the conduct, as the case may be.
(2) If the Director makes a provisional decision he...
