[Section 43B heading substituted by section 24(a) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (a) | The Competition Commission, acting within its functions set out in section 21(1), may conduct a market inquiry at any time, subject to subsections (2) to (6)— |
| (i) | if it has reason to believe that any feature or combination of features of a market for any goods or services impedes, distorts or restricts competition within that market; or |
| (ii) | to achieve the purposes of this Act. |
| (b) | The Minister may, after consultation with the Competition Commission and after consideration of the factors in paragraph (a)(i) and (ii), require the Competition Commission to conduct a market inquiry contemplated in paragraph (a) during a specified period. |
[Section 43B(1) substituted by section 24(b) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (2) | The Competition Commission must, at least 20 business days before the commencement of a market inquiry, publish a notice in the Gazette announcing the establishment of the market inquiry, setting out the terms of reference for the market inquiry and inviting members of the public to provide written representations to the market inquiry. |
[Section 43B(2) substituted by section 24(c) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (2A) | Before publishing the notice referred to in subsection (2), the Competition Commission must notify and consult with the relevant regulatory authority if the intended market inquiry will investigate a sector over which the regulatory authority has jurisdiction in terms of any public regulation. |
[Section 43B(2A) inserted by section 24(d) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (2B) | The Competition Commission must appoint a Deputy Commissioner referred to in section 23(2)(b) to chair a market inquiry and may appoint one or more additional suitably qualified persons to the panel that conducts the market inquiry |
[Section 43B(2B) inserted by section 24(d) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (3) | The Competition Commission may conduct a market inquiry in any manner but, for greater certainty, the provisions of— |
| (a) | sections 44 to 45A, each read with the changes required by the context, apply to the conduct of the market inquiry and to the publication of the report of a market inquiry in terms of subsection (4); |
| (b) | sections 46 to 49 do not apply in respect of the conduct of a market inquiry; |
| (c) | section 49A, read with the changes required by the context, applies to the conduct of a market inquiry; |
| (cA) | Sections 49A(1), 52(2), 52(2A), 52(3), 55 and 56, read with the changes required by the context, apply to the conduct of a market inquiry, but for the purposes of this section, a reference in any of those sections to the Competition Tribunal, Chairperson of the Competition Tribunal or to a person "presiding at a hearing" must be regarded as referring to the Competition Commission. |
[Section 43B(3)(cA) inserted by section 24(e) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (d) | section 54(b), (e) and (f), each read with the changes required by the context, apply to the conduct of a market inquiry, but for the purpose of this section, a reference in any of those sections to the "Tribunal" or to a person "presiding at a hearing" must be regarded as referring to the Competition Commission; and |
| (3A) | For purposes of this Chapter— |
| (a) | the Competition Commission may, within 20 business days of receipt of information claimed as confidential in terms of section 44(1), determine whether or not the information is confidential information; |
| (b) | if the Competition Commission determines that the information is confidential, it may, within five business days, make an appropriate determination concerning access to that information by any person; |
| (c) | before making the decision in paragraph (a) or (b), the Competition Commission must give the party claiming the information to be confidential, notice of its intention to make its determination and consider the representations, if any, made to it by that person; |
| (d) | any person aggrieved by the determination of the Competition Commission in terms of this subsection may within 15 business days of the determination, appeal against the determination to the Competition Tribunal. |
[Section 43B(3A) inserted by section 24(f) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (a) | The terms of reference required in terms of subsection (2) must include, at a minimum, a statement of the scope of the inquiry, and the time within which it is expected to be completed, which period may not exceed 18 months. |
| (b) | The Competition Commission may apply to the Minister to extend for a reasonable period, the completion of a market inquiry beyond the period referred to in paragraph (a). |
[Section 43B(4) substituted by section 24(g) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
| (5) | The Competition Commission may amend the terms of reference, including the scope of the inquiry, or the time within which it is expected to be completed, by further notice in the Gazette. |
| (6) | Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the Competition Commission must complete a market inquiry by publishing a report contemplated in sections 43D and 43E, within the time set out in the terms of reference referred to in subsection (2). |
[Section 43B(6) substituted by section 24(h) of Notice 175, GG 42231, dated 14 February 2019]
