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The Competition Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2012 (commencement notice) was published in the Gazette today (November 23).
The Competition Ordinance (Ordinance) was passed on June 14, 2012 by the Legislative Council to provide a legal framework to curb anti-competitive conduct in various sectors. A Competition Commission (the Commission) and a Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) will be set up under the Ordinance.
"We will implement the legislation in phases so that the public and the business sector can familiarise themselves with the new legal requirements and make necessary adjustments during the transitional period. We will first commence the provisions relating to the institutional arrangements in order to set up the Commission and the Tribunal," a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said.
"During the transitional period, the Commission will prepare regulatory guidelines and carry out consultation as well as conduct publicity programmes to promote public understanding of the Ordinance. The Judiciary will also prepare subsidiary legislation relating to the Tribunal proceedings and make other necessary arrangements to pave the way for the full operation of the Tribunal.
"We will bring the Ordinance into full operation when all the preparatory work is completed. We expect that the process will take at least a year," the spokesman added.
The commencement notice brings those provisions in relation to the short title, commencement of the Ordinance, interpretation, guidelines to be issued by the Commission, and other provisions related to the establishment and operation of the Commission into operation on January 18, 2013, and those provisions in relation to the Tribunal into operation on August 1, 2013.
The commencement notice will be tabled in the Legislative Council for negative vetting on November 28.
Ends/Friday, November 23, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:00
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