| (1) | A professional association whose rules contain a restriction that has the effect of substantially preventing or lessening competition in a market may apply in the prescribed manner to the Competition Commission for an exemption in terms of item 2. |
| (2) | The Competition Commission may exempt all or part of the rules of a professional association from the provisions of Part A of Chapter 2 of this Act for a specified period if, having regard to internationally applied norms, any restriction contained in those rules that has the effect of substantially preventing or lessening competition in a market is reasonably required to maintain— |
| (a) | professional standards; or |
| (b) | the ordinary function of the profession. |
| (3) | Upon receiving an application in terms of item 1, the Competition Commission must— |
| (a) | publish a notice of the application in the Gazette; |
| (b) | allow interested parties 20 business days from the date of that notice to make representations concerning the application; and |
| (c) | consult the responsible Minister, or member of the Executive Council concerning the application. |
| (4) | After considering the application and any submissions or other information received in relation to the application, and consulting with the responsible Minister or member of the Executive Council, the Commission must— |
| (a) | either grant an exemption or reject the application by issuing a notice in the prescribed form to the applicant, |
| (b) | give written reasons for its decision; and |
| (c) | publish a notice of that decision in the Gazette. |
| (5) | The Competition Commission, in the prescribed manner, may revoke an exemption granted under item 4 on good cause shown, at any time after it has— |
| (a) | given notice in the Gazette of its intention to revoke the exemption; |
| (b) | allowed interested parties 20 business days from the date of that notice to make representations concerning the exemption; and |
| (c) | consulted the responsible Minister, or member of the Executive Council. |
| (6) | A professional rule is exempt, or its exemption revoked, only as of the date on which notice of the exemption or revocation, as the case may be, is published in the Gazette. |
| (7) | The Competition Commission must maintain for public inspection a record of all professional rules that have received exemption, or for which exemption has been revoked. |
| (8) | A professional association, or any other person with a substantial interest affected by a decision of the Competition Commission in terms of item 4 may appeal against that decision to the Competition Tribunal in the prescribed manner and form. |
‘professional association’ means an association referred to in Part B of this Schedule;
‘professional rules’ means rules regulating a professional association that are binding on its members;
‘rules’ includes public regulations, codes of practice and statements of principle.
[Schedule 1, Part A, substituted by section 21(b) of Notice No. 1354, GG 21880, dated 13 December 2000]
