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COMING INTO FORCE OF THE COMPETITION (AMENDMENT) ACT
pr1435
04/10/2001
04/10/2001
| The Competition (Amendment) Act which was approved by Parliament last | November entered into force on Monday 1st October 2001. The Competition Act was enacted in 1994 to safeguard fair competition in the market by prohibiting restrictive agreements or practices which distort competition. |
| Speaking at a press conference yesterday, | Parliamentary Secretary Dr. George Hyzler explained that with these amendments all public undertakings, except those exempted by the Minister for a special reason, which previously were exempted from the provisions of law, are now subjected to the legislation. |
| "This means", he continued, "that over | 60 public undertakings and nearly the same number of Government Departments that are carrying out an economic activity are now subject to the provisions of the Competition Act." |
| By mid-next year only those undertakings carrying a | universal service will continue to be exempted from the provisions of the legislation. |
| Dr. Hyzler said that this shows Government’s | commitment to liberalise the market but at the same time ensuring that fair competition prevails. "Public undertakings will thus have to compete in the market under the same conditions in which the private sector operates, thereby ensuring a level playing field for all concerned". |
| The public undertakings that were granted exemption | are AirMalta plc (excluding all its subsidiaries except for Air Supplies and Catering Company Limited), Freeport Terminal (Malta) plc, Malta Freeport Terminals Limited, Maltacom plc (excluding all its subsidiaries), Tug Malta Ltd, Maltapost plc, Water Services Corporation, Medigrain Limited, Malta International Airport plc and Enemalta Corporation. |
| The Competition (Amendment) Act also establishes a | clear distinction between the investigative function of the Office of Fair Competition (now forming part of the Consumer and Competition Division within the Ministry for Economic Services) and the judicial function of the Commission for Fair Trading. |
| The Director has now been empowered to intervene and | stop an infringment more effectively by issuing a "cease and desist order" once an investigation is concluded. To avoid court proceedings the Director may arrive at "compromise penalties" for non-compliance with a "cease and desist order". Moreover, the Director may arrive at "extinction of criminal liability penalties" with concurrence of the Commission which are less than the maximum applicable under the Act. |
| The Director has also been empowered to grant | Individual Exemptions that previously could only be granted by the Commission. However, his decisions are subject to review by the Commisison of Fair Trading. |
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