There is hereby established a Commission to be called the Commerce Commission.

The Commission shall consist of 4 or more members who shall be appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister.

One member shall be appointed as Chairman of the Commission and another shall be appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Commission.

In the absence of the Chairman or during any vacancy in the office of Chairman, the Deputy Chairman shall have and may exercise all the powers, functions, and duties of the Chairman, and shall preside at all meetings of the Commission.

The Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister, may from time to time appoint an additional member or additional members of the Commission.

In recommending persons for appointment as members or additional members of the Commission the Minister shall have regard not only to their personal attributes but also to their knowledge of or experience in trade, industry, economics, accountancy, commercial law, public administration, or consumer affairs.

No member of the Commission shall be personally liable for any act or default done or made by the Commission or by any member of the Commission in good faith in the course of the operations of the Commission.

The Commission constituted under this Act is hereby declared to be the same Commission as the Commerce Commission constituted immediately before the commencement of this Act under the Trade Practices (Commerce Commission and Pyramid Selling) Act 1974.

Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, every member of the Commission shall hold office for such term as the Governor-General shall specify in his appointment, being a term not exceeding 5 years, but may from time to time be reappointed.

Any member of the Commission may be at any time removed from office by the Governor-General for disability, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct, proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, or may at any time resign his office by writing addressed to the Minister.

Notwithstanding that the term of office of a member of the Commission has expired or that a member of the Commission has resigned his office, he shall be deemed to continue a member of the Commission for the purpose of—

The powers of the Commission shall not be affected by any vacancy in its membership.

The Commission shall have a seal, which shall be judicially noticed in all Courts and for all purposes.

Subject to this section, the Chairman shall convene such meetings of the Commission as he thinks necessary for the efficient performance of the functions assigned to it under this Act.

Meetings of the Commission shall be held at such places as the Chairman determines.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Commission at which he is present.

In the absence of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman from any meeting the members present shall appoint one of their number to be the Chairman for the purposes of that meeting.

At any meeting of the Commission the quorum necessary for the transaction of business shall be 3 members:

Provided that none of the functions conferred on the Commission by Part II or Part III of this Act shall be exercised at any such meeting unless at least 4 members are present.

All questions arising at any meeting of the Commission shall be decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting. The presiding member shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

The Chairman may, by writing signed by him with the concurrence of the Minister, direct that the powers of the Commission under this Act or any other Act in relation to any matter or class of matter shall be exercised by separate Divisions of the Commission.

Each Division shall consist of such members of the Commission as are for the time being assigned to that Division by the Chairman of the Commission:

Provided that no Division shall consist of less than 3 members and no Division that may exercise any of the functions or powers conferred on the Commission by Part II or Part III of this Act shall consist of less than 4 members.

If the members appointed to any Division do not include either the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman, the Chairman shall from time to time nominate the member who is to be Chairman of that Division. In the absence of that member from any meeting of the Division the members present shall appoint one of their number to be the Chairman of the Division for the purposes of that meeting:

Provided that no Division may exercise any of the functions or powers conferred on the Commission by Part II or Part III of this Act unless the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the Commission acts as the Chairman of the Division at the meeting at which those functions or powers are exercised.

For the purpose of the determination of a matter or class of matters specified in a direction given under subsection (1) of this section, the Commission shall be deemed to consist of the Division of the Commission specified in the direction and the powers of any such Division shall not be affected by any changes or vacancies in its membership.

A Division of the Commission may exercise powers of the Commission under this Act notwithstanding that another Division of the Commission is exercising powers of the Commission at the same time.

Any direction given under subsection (1) of this section may be revoked or amended by the Chairman with the concurrence of the Minister.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made under this Act, the Commission may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

Except as provided by subsections (2) and (3) of this section and by section 72 of this Act, every hearing of the Commission shall be held in public.

The Commission may deliberate in private as to its decision in any matter or as to any question arising in the course of any proceedings before it.

Where the Commission is satisfied that it is desirable to do so by reason of the confidential nature of any evidence or matter, the Commission may, of its own motion or on the application of any party to the proceedings,—

Every person commits an offence against this Act who acts in contravention of any order made by the Commission under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of this section.

The Commission is hereby declared to be a statutory Board within the meaning of the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951.

There shall be paid to the members of the Commission, out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances, and travelling allowances and expenses, in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

The principal functions of the Commission shall be those conferred on it—

The Commission shall also have such other functions as are conferred on it by this Act or by any other Act.

For the purposes of any inquiry or investigation conducted by the Commission under this Act, any person authorised in that behalf by writing under the seal of the Commission may—

The Commission may, if it thinks fit, require that any written information or particulars or any copies or extracts furnished under this section shall be verified by statutory declaration or otherwise as the Commission may require.

At any meeting of the Commission it may receive in evidence any statement, document, information, or matter that may in its opinion assist it to deal effectively with the matter before it, whether or not the same would be otherwise admissible in a Court of law.

The Commission may take evidence on oath and for that purpose a member of the Commission or the Executive Officer of the Commission may administer an oath.

A member of the Commission may by order under the seal of the Commission summon any person to appear before the Commission to give evidence as to the subject-matter of the inquiry before it, and require any witness to produce to the Commission all or any books or documents in his possession or control relative to the subject-matter of the inquiry.

The Commission may permit a person appearing as a witness before the Commission to give evidence by tendering and, if the Commission thinks fit, verifying by oath, a written statement.

Where any person has appeared as a witness before the Commission pursuant to a summons in that behalf, or has given evidence before the Commission, whether pursuant to a summons or not, the Commission may, if it thinks fit, order any sum to be paid to that witness on account of his expenses, not exceeding the amount that would be payable to him if his attendance had been as a witness for the Crown in a criminal case in accordance with the regulations for the time being in force for the payment of witnesses for the Crown in criminal cases.

In any proceeding before the Commission, other than a proceeding pursuant to section 99 of this Act, the following persons, and no others, may appear and be heard as parties—

Where more than one person may qualify for authorisation under paragraph (h) or paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of this section and those persons, or any two or more of them, have, in the opinion of the Commission, interests in the proceeding which are substantially the same, the Commission may, after consulting with those persons, authorise one of them to appear and be heard in the proceeding as a party representing all of those persons or any two or more of them, and that person shall be deemed to be so authorised under paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of this section.

Where any person is entitled under paragraphs (a) to (f) of section 14(1) of this Act to appear and be heard in relation to proceedings before the Commission that person may appear in person or by his counsel, solicitor, or agent, and shall have the right to produce evidence and to cross-examine witnesses.

Any other person authorised to appear and be heard under paragraph (g) or paragraph (h) or paragraph (i) of section 14(1) of this Act may appear in person or by his counsel, solicitor, or agent, but may adduce evidence and cross-examine witnesses only with the leave of the Commission.

Where any party to any proceeding has furnished any information, particulars, or documents, to the Commission or to any other party for the purpose of the proceeding, the Commission may, before or during the hearing and subject to such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, order any party to any proceeding before the Commission to supply that information or those particulars or documents to the solicitor, counsel, or agent of any other party to that proceeding or to any other named person. Any terms or conditions imposed by the Commission may relate not only to the supply of the information, particulars, or documents, but also to the use that is made of the information, particulars, or documents supplied.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who acts in contravention of any order made under subsection (3) of this section or of any term or condition of any such order.

Proceedings before the Commission under this Act shall not be held bad for want of form or be void or in any way vitiated by reason of any informality or error of form.

A person shall not be excused from complying with any requirement under sections 12, 38(2), 80, or 86 of this Act or, on appearing before the Commission, from answering any question or producing any books or documents on the ground that he might tend to incriminate himself or his spouse if he complied with the requirement or gave the answer or produced the books or documents.

Where the Commission is sitting in public, any person giving evidence before the Commission shall, notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, have the right to refuse to give evidence tending to incriminate himself or his spouse in respect of any offence against any Act (other than this Act or the Economic Stabilisation Act 1948 or the Commercial Trusts Act 1910 or the Control of Prices Act 1947 or the Trade Practices Act 1958 or the Consumer Information Act 1969).

A statement made by any person in answer to any question put by or before the Commission shall not, in criminal proceedings, be admissible against the maker of the statement, except upon a charge of perjury against the maker of the statement in respect of his sworn testimony before the Commission or upon a charge of an offence against any of the provisions of this Act or the Economic Stabilisation Act 1948 or the Commercial Trusts Act 1910 or the Control of Prices Act 1947 or the Trade Practices Act 1958 or the Consumer Information Act 1969.

Except for the purposes of this Act or for the purposes of any charge of a kind mentioned in subsection (3) of this section, no Court or other person shall be entitled to require any member of the Commission, or any officer of the Commission, or any officer of the Department, or any other person present at any private sitting of the Commission, to divulge or communicate any evidence given, or documents tendered, in respect of any matter at any private sitting of the Commission.

Nothing in subsection (4) of this section shall limit the provisions of section 19 of this Act.

There shall from time to time be appointed under the State Services Act 1962—

There shall also be appointed from time to time under the State Services Act 1962—

The Department shall, at the request of the Commission, provide such administrative services, and conduct or commission such research as may be necessary for the efficient carrying out of the Commission’s functions or requirements under this Act.

Every member of the Commission, the Secretary, the Examiner, and every person engaged or employed in connection with the work of the Commission, the Secretary, or the Examiner shall—

Every person who wilfully acts in contravention of the true intent of that oath commits an offence against this Act, and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to both.

The provisions of this Part of this Act relate to trade practices of the following classes—

For the purposes of this Act, a trade practice shall be deemed contrary to the public interest only if, in the opinion of the Commission, the effect of the practice is or would be—

Notwithstanding that the Commission is of the opinion that the effect of any trade practice is or would be any of those described in subsection (1) of this section, that practice shall not be deemed contrary to the public interest if the parties to the practice satisfy the Commission that, in the particular case,—

In considering, under subsection (2)(b) of this section, whether any effect mentioned in paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section is not unreasonable, the Commission may where applicable have regard to the considerations laid down in section 98 of this Act for the purpose of determining—

In considering, under subsection (2)(b) of this section, whether any effect mentioned in paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of this section is not unreasonable, the Commission shall—

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, where the Commission after either holding an inquiry or dispensing with one as permitted by section 40(4) of this Act is of the opinion that a trade practice is substantially within one or more of categories specified in section 23 of this Act and that the introduction or continuance or repetition of the trade practice would be contrary to the public interest, the Commission may make an order—

Before making any order under this section the Commission shall have regard to any representations made to it by any party to the trade practice in question, and the Commission may, instead of making an order, permit any party who has made representations as aforesaid to take such steps, within such time as may be limited in that behalf by the Commission, as may be necessary to ensure that the trade practice is not contrary to the public interest, and, in any such case, if the Commission is satisfied that the necessary steps have been taken within the time limited as aforesaid, it may decide not to make an order under this section in respect of the matter.

Any order made by the Commission under this section may be general in its application or may be limited to any particular class of traders, or to an individual trader, or to a particular class of trade practice or to a particular trade practice, or to a particular locality.

In any order made under this section the Commission may make such provisions, not inconsistent with this Act, as it thinks necessary or desirable for the proper administration of the order or to ensure compliance with the terms thereof.

Every order made under subsection (1) of this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into force on such date as is specified in that behalf in the order.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, without lawful justification or excuse, does any act in contravention of or fails to comply in any particular with any obligation or duty imposed on him by any order made under subsection (1) of this section.

Nothing in this section or in section 23 of this Act shall authorise the making of an order in respect of—

The categories of trade practices referred to in section 22(1) of this Act are:

For the purposes of this section, where a seller sells goods to a buyer for the purpose of resale, the seller shall be deemed to be a wholesaler and the buyer shall be deemed to be a retailer in respect of that sale, notwithstanding that the buyer intends to resell the goods to another buyer for the purposes of resale, and, in respect of any such resale, the seller shall be deemed to be a wholesaler and the buyer shall be deemed to be a retailer in respect of that resale.

For the purposes of paragraph (b), paragraph (d), and paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of this section and of sections 27 and 29 of this Act—

For the purposes of this section and of sections 27 and 29 of this Act, and without limiting the meaning of that expression in any other provision of this Act, the expression “combination of persons” in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section does not include a partnership, all the members of which are individuals, by which the goods are sold or are to be sold or the services are performed or are to be performed.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(i) of this section and without limiting the generality of that paragraph, a refusal to sell or supply, or, as the case may be, a refusal to continue to sell or supply, shall be deemed to have occurred if there has been a refusal to sell or supply the goods or services, except at prices or upon terms as to credit, discount, or otherwise, which—

For the purposes of subsection (1)(i) of this section and without limiting the generality of that paragraph, a refusal by a person to sell or supply, or to continue to sell or supply, goods or services to any other person shall not be justified solely by one or more of the following facts, namely—

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall apply in respect of any agreement or arrangement between consumers relating to goods which are bought by them for consumption and not for resale.

Where any agreement is made by a trade association, the agreement shall be deemed to be made by the association and by all persons who are members of the association or represented thereon as if each such person were a party to the agreement.

Where a trade practice relating to the sale or supply of goods, or the performance of services, in New Zealand is substantially within one or more of the categories referred to in subsection (1) of this section, and any party to the practice does not carry on business in New Zealand, that part of the trade practice being carried out in New Zealand shall be deemed to be a practice coming within that category or those categories for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

Where specific recommendations, whether express or implied, are made by or on behalf of a trade association to its members or to any class of its members, concerning the action to be taken or not to be taken by them in relation to any matter affecting the trading conditions of those members, the provisions of this Act shall apply as if membership of the association constituted an agreement under which the members agreed with the association and with each other to comply with the recommendations, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the constitution or rules of the association.

This section shall apply to any agreement or arrangement referred to in subsection (1) of this section whether or not the agreement or arrangement is intended to be enforceable by legal proceedings.

Any order made by the Commission under section 22 of this Act may at any time be amended or revoked by a subsequent order:

Provided that, except with the consent of the Examiner and all parties directly affected by the order, no such amendment or revocation shall be made unless the Examiner and all such parties have been given a reasonable opportunity of making such representations as they think fit with respect to the amendment or revocation.

Where after inquiry under this Part of this Act the Commission is of the opinion that it would be in the public interest that any goods or services to which the inquiry relates should be subject to price control under section 82 of this Act the Commission shall, within 28 days after the date of the conclusion of the inquiry, report to the Minister its findings in that respect together with any recommendation it thinks fit to make in relation to the imposition of price control.

If the Examiner has reasonable cause to believe that persons engaged in any particular trade or class of trading are parties to a trade practice substantially within one or more of the categories referred to in section 23(1) of this Act, which might be contrary to the public interest in accordance with section 21 of this Act, he may apply to the Commission for an order requiring those persons to furnish to the Examiner the following particulars in respect of any such trade practice:

Where the Examiner considers it desirable to do so, and without prejudice to any action that he may take under section 38 of this Act, he may apply to the Commission for an order requiring any persons (who are ascertained under subsection (1) of this section to be parties to any such trade practice) to notify the Examiner whenever any change occurs in respect of any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section, and the nature and extent of any such changes.

As soon as conveniently may be after the receipt of an application for an order under this section, the Commission shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the application and shall give notice thereof to the Examiner and to any person believed by the Examiner to be engaged in carrying on the trade practice.

At the hearing of the application the Commission shall hear the representations made by the Examiner and any persons believed by the Examiner to be carrying on the trade practice.

In its determination of an application made under this section, the Commission may refuse to grant an order or may grant an order subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in the order.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, without lawful justification or excuse, does any act in contravention of or fails to comply in any particular with any obligation or duty imposed on him by any order made under this section.

Nothing in this section shall authorise the making of an order in respect of—

No person shall be a party to or carry on any trade practice that comes substantially within any of the categories specified in paragraph (b), paragraph (d), or paragraph (e) of section 23(1) of this Act unless—

Every person commits an offence against this Act who acts in contravention of subsection (1) of this section.

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall apply to:

After the 1st day of February 1976, no person shall be a party to any agreement or arrangement between a wholesaler and a retailer by which the wholesaler agrees to sell goods to the retailer on the condition that the prices charged by the retailer or the conditions of sale affecting prices on which he sells shall be the prices or conditions of sale stipulated by the wholesaler or to any agreement or arrangement between a wholesaler and a retailer by which the retailer agrees to comply with any such condition (except an agreement or arrangement which complies with subsection (3) of this section), or operate any such agreement or arrangement, unless—

Subsection (1) of this section shall apply in respect of any agreement or arrangement of the type described in that subsection to the extent that it is carried on in New Zealand, notwithstanding that one or more of the parties to an agreement or arrangement does not carry on business in New Zealand.

Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in respect of any agreement or arrangement of the type described in subsection (1) of this section, and the approval of the Commission to the agreement or arrangement shall not be required, if—

The conditions referred to in subsection (3)(b) of this section are that:

Nothing in this section shall apply to any trade practice expressly authorised by any Act.

Notwithstanding that any agreement or arrangement or practice of the type described in subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section complies with subsection (3) of this section, the Commission may at any time after conducting an inquiry following a report made by the Examiner after investigation by him in accordance with sections 38 to 40 of this Act, make an order with respect to that agreement, arrangement, or practice if it finds it is or is likely to be contrary to the public interest in terms of section 21 of this Act. All the provisions of section 22 and of sections 24, 25, and 41 of this Act shall apply with all necessary modifications as if the agreement, arrangement, or practice were described in section 23(1) of this Act.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who acts in contravention of subsection (1) of this section.

Any wholesaler, retailer, supplier of services, contractor, trade association, or combination of persons, who or which is carrying on or intending to carry on any trade practice to which section 27(1) or section 28(1) of this Act applies, may apply to the Commission for its approval of that trade practice. Every such application shall be made in duplicate in a form provided or approved by the Commission.

A copy of the application shall be supplied by the Commission to the Examiner for investigation and report.

Any application made pursuant to section 18a of the Trade Practices Act 1958 and not determined by the Commission or withdrawn by the applicant at the commencement of this Act shall be treated as an application under subsection (1) of this section and shall be dealt with accordingly.

Where application is made to the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, the Commission shall grant its approval if in its opinion the effect of the trade practice is not and is not likely to be contrary to the public interest in accordance with the provisions of section 21 of this Act.

Any such approval may be subject to such conditions as the Commission thinks fit and, in any such approval, the Commission may make such provisions not inconsistent with this Act as it thinks necessary or desirable for the proper administration of the approval or to ensure compliance with the terms thereof.

Any such approval given by the Commission may be limited in its application.

The Commission may deal with applications under this section in such order as it thinks fit, but shall, as far as practicable, give priority to applications for its approval of trade practices that are not already being carried on by the applicants.

Where approval of a trade practice has been granted under this section, or is deemed to have been so granted, the Commission, on the application of the Examiner or of the person on whose application the practice was approved or of any person carrying on that trade practice, may at any time—

The procedure on any application under subsection (8) of this section shall be the same, with the necessary modifications, as in the case of an application for approval made under subsection (1) of this section.

Where, before the commencement of this Act,—

then that practice shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been approved under this section or, as the case may require, be deemed to have been approved subject to the conditions prescribed in the approval or order.

The Commission shall publish in the Gazette such particulars as it thinks fit of every decision made by it under this section, and no such decision shall come into force before the date of the publication of those particulars in the Gazette.

Where before the 1st day of February 1976 application for the approval of the Commission of any individual resale price maintenance agreement or arrangement being carried on before the commencement of this Act is made under section 29 of this Act; or where application for approval of a collective pricing practice was made before the 1st day of April 1972 under section 18a of the Trade Practices Act 1958; but the application and any appeal from the decision of the Commission on the application have not been determined before the 1st day of February 1976, then, without limiting any other provision of this Act in relation to that agreement, arrangement, or practice, it shall not be an offence against section 27 or section 28 of this Act for the parties concerned to carry on the agreement, arrangement, or practice without change in its nature pending the determination of the application or any such appeal so long as those parties comply with such requirements as the Commission may impose in respect of the notification, implementation, or extent of—

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall limit the provisions of section 93 of this Act or the powers of any appropriate pricing authority.

For the purposes of this Act a pyramid selling scheme is a scheme which includes the following elements—

For the purposes of this Act a scheme shall be taken to include the element referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section whether the transactions referred to in that paragraph are to be effected by participants in the capacity of servants or agents of the promoter or of one of the promoters or in any other capacity.

In determining for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) of this section, whether any premises are premises at which a participant in a scheme carries on business, no account shall be taken of transactions effected or to be effected by him under that scheme.

For the purposes of this Act such a prospect as is mentioned in subsection (1)(d) of this section shall be taken to be held out to a participant—

In this section “scheme” includes any arrangements made in connection with the carrying on of a business, whether those arrangements are made or recorded wholly or partly in writing or not.

In this section any reference to the provision of goods or services by a person shall be construed as including a reference to the provision of goods or services under arrangements to which that person is a party.

For the purposes of this Act the term pyramid selling scheme does not include any scheme for the time being declared by the Minister by notice in the Gazette to be excluded from that term.

No person shall act as the promoter of a pyramid selling scheme or operate any such scheme on behalf of the promoter unless—

Every person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section commits an offence against this Act.

Any person who wishes to act as the promoter of a pyramid selling scheme may apply to the Commission for its approval of that scheme.

Every such application shall be made in duplicate in a form provided or approved by the Commission, and be accompanied by evidence that adequate security will be provided by the applicant for the performance of his obligations under the scheme, including his obligations under section 36 of this Act.

The Commission shall supply a copy of the application to the Examiner for investigation and report.

Where an application is made to the Commission under section 33 of this Act in respect of a pyramid selling scheme, the Commission shall hold a public inquiry into the application, and after doing so shall grant its approval of the scheme only if it is satisfied—

but otherwise shall refuse to approve the scheme.

Where the Commission grants its approval under this section of a pyramid selling scheme, it may impose such conditions to that approval as it thinks fit and in particular, but without limiting the generality of this subsection, it may—

The Commission shall publish in the Gazette such particulars as it thinks fit of every decision made by it under this section, and no such decision shall come into force before the date of the publication of those particulars in the Gazette.

Where approval of a pyramid selling scheme has been granted under section 34 of this Act, the Commission may at any time on the application of the Examiner, or of the person on whose application the scheme was approved, or of any other person operating the scheme, or of any participant in the scheme,—

The procedure on any application under subsection (1) of this section shall be the same, with the necessary modifications, as in the case of an application for approval of a pyramid selling scheme made under section 33 of this Act.

Where the promoter of a pyramid selling scheme or any participant enters into any contract with any participant or any other participant, as the case may be, whereby the other party acquires any right to the property in, or to the sale or distribution of, any goods or to entitlements, or to the sale of entitlements, to the performance of services, or any right to recruit any person or persons to sell or distribute or arrange the sale or distribution of any goods or entitlements to services, or any other right, there shall be implied in that contract a term (a condition) that the other party may rescind the contract at any time and—

The provisions of subsection (1) of the section shall apply notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any deed, contract, instrument, or agreement.

Where a pyramid selling scheme is approved by the Commission under section 34 of the Act, the Commission may approve conditions that shall apply instead of any or all of the conditions set out in subsection (1) of this section.

This section shall have effect in relation to any contract entered into under any pyramid selling scheme after the 9th day of October 1974.

The promoter of a pyramid selling scheme or any participant who enters into a contract under that scheme with any other party (being a participant) shall show in the contract the total of all amounts paid or to be paid by that other party upon entering into the contract and shall also show particulars of any amount paid or to be paid initially for—

Every person commits an offence against this Act who acts in contravention of subsection (1) of this section.

The Examiner shall investigate—

For the purpose of any investigation conducted by the Examiner under this Part of this Act, the Examiner, and any person authorised in that behalf by writing under the seal of the Commission, shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Commission by paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (1), and by subsection (2), of section 12 of this Act.

Where after investigation pursuant to section 38(1)(a) of this Act the Examiner is of the opinion that any person is carrying on a trade practice contrary to the public interest, the Examiner shall furnish to that person a statement in writing:

Where after investigation pursuant to section 38(1)(b) of this Act, the Examiner is of the opinion that the carrying on of, or the proposal to carry on, any practice or pyramid selling scheme to which any application referred to him by the Commission relates is or may be contrary to the public interest or, in the case of a pyramid selling scheme, does not comply with paragraphs (b) to (d) of section 34(1) of this Act, the Examiner shall furnish to that person a statement in writing:

Where any person to whom the Examiner has furnished a statement in accordance with subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section does not reply in accordance with the subsection under which the statement was furnished, the Examiner shall forthwith report to the Commission in accordance with section 40 of this Act.

Where any such person replies in accordance with paragraph (c) of subsection (1) or paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section, the Examiner, if he considers the person, although carrying on or proposing to carry on a practice or scheme which, in the opinion of the Examiner, is or may be contrary to the public interest or, as the case may be, does not comply with paragraphs (b) to (d) of section 34(1) of this Act, might agree to carry out such of the following actions as are appropriate, namely—

shall invite that person to confer with him for the purpose of reaching agreement on the nature of a recommendation to be made by the Examiner to the Commission.

In any case where the Examiner invites any person to confer with him under subsection (4) of this section he shall, if necessary for the purpose of reaching agreement with that person, allow 14 days from the date of inviting that person to confer with him, or such longer period as the Examiner in special circumstances thinks fit, before reporting to the Commission in accordance with section 40 of this Act.

This section shall not apply to any of the practices which are offences against any of the provisions of sections 48 to 57 of this Act.

The Examiner shall furnish a report to the Commission—

The report shall show:

If on completing any investigation under section 38 of this Act, the Examiner is in doubt as to whether or not a trade practice is contrary to the public interest, he may in his discretion report that fact to the Commission and furnish to the Commission a report showing—

and the Commission may conduct an inquiry into the matter under section 41 of this Act.

In any case where the Examiner, in reporting in accordance with subsection (1)(c) of this section, satisfies the Commission that all persons who would be bound by any order made pursuant to the recommendation have concurred with the recommendation made, the Commission may dispense with any inquiry under section 41 of this Act.

Where the Commission proposes to hold an inquiry into any trade practice or any proposed trade practice or any proposed pyramid selling scheme concerning which a report has been furnished to it under subsection (1) or subsection (3) of this section, it shall provide a copy of the report to the parties to the trade practice who are named in the report, or to the promoter of the pyramid selling scheme, or to their representatives, and to any other person who in the opinion of the Commission is affected by the report, or their representatives; and those parties and persons, or their respective representatives, shall furnish to the Commission, in a form approved by the Commission, an answer to the report within such time as may be limited in that behalf by the Commission:

Provided that the form of an answer from any person (other than a party to the trade practice) who has been furnished with the report shall not require to be approved by the Commission if that answer consists of a written statement from that person to the effect that he has seen the report and does not wish to comment on it.

A copy of the answer shall be furnished to the Examiner.

Where a report is made to the Commission under section 40(1) of this Act, the Commission, unless it decides under subsection (4) of that section to dispense with an inquiry, shall conduct an inquiry into the matter.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, at any inquiry under this section the Commission shall determine—

Subject to sections 43 and 44 of this Act, there shall be a right of appeal to the Administrative Division of the Supreme Court (in this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, referred to as the Court) against a decision of the Commission in respect of any of the matters specified in section 43 of this Act.

Every such appeal shall be made by giving notice of appeal within 28 days after the date of the publication in the Gazette of the order or decision appealed against.

It shall not be necessary to state in the notice the grounds of appeal.

Subject to the provisions of sections 44 to 47 of this Act, the procedure in respect of any such appeal shall be in accordance with the rules of Court.

The right of appeal under section 42 of this Act shall be from the whole or any part of any order or decision of the Commission made under any of the provisions of sections 22, 24, 29, 34, and 35 of this Act.

The following persons and no others may exercise such right of appeal as aforesaid:

The Court may in any case, if it considers it is in the interests of the parties or of any of them and is not contrary to the interests of other persons concerned or the public interest, order that the hearing or any part of it shall be held in private.

The Court may make an order prohibiting the publication of any report or description of the proceedings or of any part of the proceedings in any appeal before it (whether heard in public or in private); but no such order shall be made prohibiting the publication of the names and descriptions of the parties to the appeal, or of any decision of the Court.

In its determination of any appeal, the Court may confirm, modify, or reverse the order or decision appealed against, or any part of that order or decision.

The decision of the Court on any appeal under subsection (3) of this section shall be final and conclusive.

Notwithstanding anything in section 45 of this Act, the Court may in any case, instead of determining any appeal under that section, direct the Commission to reconsider, either generally or in respect of any specified matters, the whole or any specified part of the matter to which the appeal relates.

In giving any direction under this section, the Court shall—

In reconsidering the matter so referred back, the Commission shall have regard to the Court’s reasons for giving a direction under subsection (1) of this section and to the Court’s directions under subsection (2) of this section.

Pending the determination of any appeal to the Administrative Division of the Supreme Court under this Part of this Act, the order or decision to which the appeal relates shall be deemed to have no effect.

It shall be an offence against this Act for any 2 or more persons, being either wholesalers, retailers, or contractors, or suppliers of services, to tender for the supply or purchase of any goods or services at prices, or on terms, agreed, or arranged between them; and it shall be an offence against this Act for 2 or more of any such persons to agree or arrange for all or any of them to abstain from tendering for the supply or purchase of any goods or services, tenders for the supply or purchase of which have been invited.

It shall not be a defence in proceedings for an offence against this section—

Nothing in this section shall apply with respect to any tender made by 2 or more persons jointly at the express request or with the prior express consent of the person inviting the tender (whether made in the name of 1 person or in the names of 2 or more persons), where the tender is made with the intention that if it is successful the supply or purchase of the goods or services or the goods or services purchased, as the case may be, will or may be shared by 2 or more persons.

It shall be an offence against this Part of this Act for any 2 or more persons, being either wholesalers, retailers, or contractors, to enter into any agreement or arrangement as to the price or prices which any of them will bid at any auction sale of goods, or any agreement or arrangement whereby any party to that agreement or arrangement agrees to abstain from bidding at any auction sale of goods.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, refuses to sell any goods or services except on the condition that other goods or services are also purchased from him or from any other person nominated by him, or attempts to impose any such condition.

Nothing in this section shall render unlawful any condition—

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, being in possession of goods for mercantile purposes, destroys or hoards the goods, or refuses to sell the goods or to make them available for sale, if such destruction or hoarding or refusal raises, or tends to raise, or is intended to raise the cost of other similar goods to the public.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, sells any goods for purposes of resale, unless he is satisfied—

Provided that this section shall not apply with respect to the sale of any goods to a retailer for purposes of retail sale.

Every person who, in the course of trade, sells goods at retail or supplies services (in this section called the seller) commits an offence against this Act if he, whether as principal or agent and whether by himself or his agent, indicates in the course of bargaining with any purchaser or prospective purchaser of those goods or services—

Provided that it shall not be an offence against this section for a seller to stipulate for secondhand goods in part exchange for reconditioned goods of the same kind if—

Every person commits an offence against this Act who whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, sells or agrees or offers to sell any goods or services at a price which is unreasonably high.

In determining, in the course of any proceedings for an offence against this section, whether or not the price of any goods is or was unreasonably high, no account shall be taken of—

For the purposes of this section, the price at which any goods or services are sold or agreed to be sold or offered for sale shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be unreasonably high if, at the time of the sale, agreement, or offer—

Where in any proceedings for an offence against this section the price of the goods or services to which those proceedings relate is not subject to control or restraint under this Act or any other Act and it is, in the opinion of the Court, not practicable, by reason of the absence of goods or services of the same kind or of the absence of comparable sellers or of any other fact, to calculate a prevailing price for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) of this section, the Court may—

In any prosecution for an offence against this section, it shall be a defence if the defendant proves that the prices or charge-out rates taken by him, and to which the prosecution relates, although exceeding the limits set out in subsection (3) or subsection (4) of this section, were not in the circumstances unreasonable.

Notwithstanding anything in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the Court may, if it thinks fit, after having regard to the margin obtained on the particular transaction and any other relevant factors, determine for the purposes of this section that a price less than the price calculated in accordance with those subsections is unreasonably high.

Nothing in this section shall apply in relation to the prices of goods or services to which section 56 of this Act applies.

In any selection of traders made for the purpose of determining a prevailing price, mark-up, or margin for goods or services sold or supplied subject to comparable conditions of sale and purchase to those sold or supplied by the defendant, the Court shall have regard to such of the following factors as it considers appropriate, namely—

This section shall apply in relation to the prices of any class of goods or services or any description of goods or services which are for the time being specified by the Minister by notice in the Gazette as a class or description of goods or services to which this section shall apply.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, sells or agrees or offers to sell any goods or services to which this section applies at a price which is unreasonably high.

For the purposes of this section the price of any goods or services shall be deemed to be unreasonably high if it produces, or is calculated to produce, more than a fair and reasonable rate of commercial profit to the person selling, or agreeing or offering to sell, those goods, or to his principal.

In determining in the course of any proceedings for an offence against this section, whether or not the price of any goods is or was unreasonably high, no account shall be taken of:

Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, the Court, in any proceedings for an offence against this section, shall determine as a matter of fact and not of law whether or not any price is or was unreasonably high.

Every wholesaler commits an offence against this Act who sells any goods that have been purchased by him from a wholesaler (including a wholesaler who imported the goods) to another wholesaler or to a retailer at a price which includes a mark-up or margin applied by him which is unreasonably high.

For the purpose of determining whether a mark-up or margin applied by such a wholesaler is unreasonably high, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the Court shall have such regard as it thinks fit to:

Nothing in this Act shall prevent the conviction of more than one defendant wholesaler of the type described in subsection (1) of this section, notwithstanding the fact that each such wholesaler had sold the same goods in different transactions.

Nothing in this Act or in regulations made under this Act, or in any other Act shall prevent the conviction of any person under this section, notwithstanding the fact that the margin or mark-up applied by that person was not unlawful under those regulations or under that other Act, except where a specific price for the sale of the goods to retailers has been fixed or approved or a specific margin or aggregate margin, for application to the landed cost or into-store cost or manufacturer’s selling price of the goods in calculating that price to retailers, has been fixed or approved, and that price or margin has not been exceeded in the transaction or transactions in question.

For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a manufacturer shall not be treated as a wholesaler unless he performs the function of a wholesaler.

Every person who commits an offence against section 32, section 51, section 52, section 54, section 56, or section 57 of this Act is liable—

Every person who commits an offence against section 27, section 28, section 48, or section 49 of this Act is liable—

Every person who commits an offence against any of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act for which no penalty is provided by subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section is liable—

If on the conviction of any person for an offence against section 51 or section 52 of this Act the goods or any of the goods in respect of which the proceedings were taken are found to be the property of the convicted person, the convicting Court, in addition to imposing any other penalty, may make an order for the forfeiture of those goods or of any of them to the Crown.

All goods forfeited under this section shall, on forfeiture become the property of the Crown, and may be sold or otherwise disposed of as the Minister may direct.

The net proceeds derived from the sale or other disposition of any such goods (after defraying the cost of sale or other disposition and any claims in respect thereof made and proved by innocent persons) shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account.

On the conviction of any person of an offence against section 54, section 56, or section 57 of this Act the convicting Court, on application by the Examiner, may, in addition to imposing any monetary or other penalty, make an order for payment by the defendant of an amount which, in the opinion of the Court, is equivalent to the excess paid by the buyer to the defendant.

All money payable pursuant to an order made under this section shall be recoverable, in accordance with the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, in the same manner as fines and costs are recoverable.

Where an order is made under subsection (1) of this section, the convicting Court, if having regard to all the circumstances of the case it deems it just and equitable to do so, may make an order authorising the payment to any person by whom the whole or any part of the excess was paid to the defendant of such amount as the Court thinks fit, not exceeding the amount of the excess so paid by that other person.

An order made under subsection (3) of this section shall be sufficient authority to the Registrar of the Court to pay the amount so authorised:

Provided that in no case shall the total amount so paid exceed the amount recovered from the defendant under this section.

Where the Court on the conviction of any person of an offence against section 114 of this Act (which relates to the commission of an act in respect of which proceedings are also instituted under section 54, section 56, or section 57 of this Act) makes an order against the defendant under section 117 of this Act, this section shall not apply.

The Minister may from time to time require the Commission to conduct an inquiry and report to him—

Before making a requisition under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister shall give to the person or persons, who, in the Minister’s opinion, have a direct interest in the subject-matter of the proposed inquiry, a written notice setting out the proposed terms of the requisition and specifying a date (which shall not be less than 28 days after the date on which the notice is given) on or before which that person or those persons may make written representations to the Minister with respect to the proposed requisition.

In any inquiry held by the Commission pursuant to a requisition under subsection (1) of this section, no reference shall be made to the notice given by the Minister under subsection (2) of this section or to the nature and content of any representations made pursuant to subsection (2) of this section or to any consultations that may have been held with the Minister by the person or persons to whom the notice was given.

The Minister shall furnish a copy of every requisition made under subsection (1) of this section to the Examiner who shall then investigate all relevant aspects of the matter to be inquired into and report his findings to the Commission with or without recommendations.

Before beginning any inquiry under this section the Commission shall give to every person who, in its opinion, has a substantial interest in the subject-matter of the inquiry, a copy of the report made by the Examiner under subsection (4) of this section and shall specify a time within which the person to whom the copy is given shall supply to the Commission a written reply commenting on, agreeing with, or disputing, any of the contents, findings, or recommendations of the report.

Without limiting section 14 of this Act, it is hereby declared that at any hearing held by the Commission in the course of an inquiry under this section, the Examiner and every person who, in the opinion of the Commission, has a substantial interest in the subject-matter of the inquiry shall be entitled to appear as a party and to be represented, to call evidence, and to examine and cross-examine witnesses.

The Commission shall complete its inquiry and deliver a report of its findings to the Minister within such time as he may specify.

In the course of any inquiry under this section the Commission shall have such regard as it thinks fit to any report of the Examiner, to any representations made to it by any person including the Examiner, and to any other matters it considers relevant.

The Commission may in its report to the Minister make such recommendations as it thinks fit.

The Examiner may at any time, whether in the course of an investigation under section 38 of this Act or not, and without being obliged to comply with sections 39 and 40 of this Act recommend to the Minister that he exercise his power under subsection (1) of this section to require the Commission to conduct an inquiry.

Where the Commission, in any report delivered to the Minister pursuant to section 61(7) of this Act, states that—

the Minister may, in his discretion, for the purpose of giving effect to the recommendations of the Commission or of otherwise dealing with the complete or partial monopoly or oligopoly or circumstances, recommend to the Governor-General the making of an Order in Council under subsection (3) of this section.

The Minister shall not make any recommendation under subsection (1) of this section until the time for lodging appeals against the Commission’s report has expired or, in the case of an appeal, until the Commission’s revised or confirmed report is delivered to him.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council, made on the recommendation of the Minister under subsection (1) of this section and published in the Gazette,—

Any Order in Council made pursuant to subsection (3) of this section may—

Before making a recommendation under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister shall inform the person or persons to whom the Minister intends the recommendation to apply of his intentions and shall give that person or those persons an opportunity to put forward, within a period not exceeding 1 month, any voluntary proposals he or they may have for remedying or substantially remedying the situation that gave rise to the Commission’s recommendations.

In any case where the Minister is authorised under section 62(1) of this Act to recommend the making of an Order in Council, he may decline to recommend the making of an Order in Council but may instead, in his discretion, after considering any voluntary proposals put forward under section 62(5) of this Act, accept all or any of such proposals.

Where the Minister accepts any proposals pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, he shall, by notice in the Gazette, publish details of those proposals and of his acceptance of them and may, in addition, take all or any of the steps set out in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (3) of this section.

In any case where the Minister is authorised under section 62(1) of this Act to recommend the making of an Order in Council, the Minister, in addition to or instead of making a recommendation under that subsection, may—

Nothing in subsection (3) of this section shall limit the exercise of any power conferred on the Minister or the Governor-General in Council by any other Act or by any other provision of this Act.

Every person commits an offence who contravenes or fails to comply with any Order in Council made under section 62 of this Act or who fails to carry out any proposals made by him and notified by the Minister under section 63(2) of this Act, and is liable on conviction on indictment—

Notwithstanding anything in section 7 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, where any person is summarily convicted of any offence against this section the Court may sentence him to pay a fine not exceeding $20,000 whether or not, in the case of an individual, the person is sentenced to a term of imprisonment as well.

No prosecution for an offence against this section shall be commenced except with the leave of the Minister.

In this section and in sections 70, 71, and 73 of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

For the purposes of the definition of the expression “merger or takeover” in subsection (1) of this section, two or more enterprises are to be treated as ceasing to be distinct if at any time—

For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section the following enterprises shall be treated as carried on under common control (without prejudice to the generality of that expression) that is to say—

For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, any two bodies corporate are to be treated as interconnected if one of them is a body corporate of which the other is a subsidiary (within the meaning of section 158 of the Companies Act 1955) or if both of them are subsidiaries (within the meaning of that section) of one and the same body corporate; and for the purposes of that subsection “interconnected bodies corporate” shall be construed accordingly.

For the purposes of subsection (2) and subsection (6) of this section, a person or group of persons able, directly or indirectly, to control the policy of a body corporate, or the policy of any person in carrying on an enterprise, shall, without having a controlling interest in the body corporate or enterprise, be deemed to have control of it, whether or not that control results from—

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, enterprises shall be treated as ceasing to be distinct enterprises where a person or group of persons already able to control the policy of a body corporate or of a person carrying on an enterprise acquires a controlling interest in that body corporate or enterprise.

For the purpose of determining under this section whether any two or more enterprises have been brought under common ownership or common control, associated persons and any bodies corporate or other enterprises which they or any of them control shall be treated as one person. The following persons shall be regarded as associated with one another—

For the purposes of this section, a person appointed as the receiver or manager of the property of a body corporate or as the liquidator of a body corporate is not, by reason of his appointment, a person having control of that body corporate.

In this section, in sections 67, 68, 69, 72, 73, 76, 77, and 79, and in the Third Schedule to this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The reference in paragraph (a) of the definition of the term “aggregation proposal” in subsection (1) of this section to shares to which the offeror is beneficially entitled shall be read as including a reference to:

For the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of the term aggregation proposal in subsection (1) of this section, the value of the net assets of any participant involved in any aggregation proposal shall be determined by reference to the value at which, on the giving of notice under section 67(1) of this Act in respect of the aggregation proposal, the assets (less any related liabilities) are shown in the books of the relevant businesses, less any relevant provisions for depreciation:

Provided that, where any assets (including goodwill) or liabilities are shown as having a different value in any valuation or assessment made for the purposes of the aggregation proposal, the value of those assets or liabilities shall be determined by that different value and not by the value at which those assets or liabilities are shown in the books of the business.

For the purposes of the Third Schedule to this Act, where any activity specified in the first column of Class A of that Schedule is carried on by one or more of a number of interconnected bodies corporate (as defined for the purposes of section 65(3) of this Act) that activity shall be deemed to be carried on by all of those interconnected bodies corporate.

Written notice of every aggregation proposal coming within any of the classes described in the Third Schedule to this Act shall be given in the prescribed form to the Examiner by or on behalf of a person who is or has control of one or more of the participants involved. Such notice shall be given not later than the time when the aggregation proposal has the provisional acceptance of the parties to it or otherwise appears likely to be completed unless prohibited under section 76 of this Act.

Nothing in the Third Schedule to this Act shall require the notification under subsection (1) of this section of any aggregation proposal if—

The Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister, may from time to time, by Order in Council published in the Gazette, amend the Third Schedule to this Act by:

Where, in respect of any class or kind of aggregation proposal specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, notification is required under this section in those cases where the aggregate value of the assets of all the participants involved or the value of the assets of any one participant involved equals or exceeds sums specified in that Schedule, the Minister may in his discretion, of his own motion or on the application of any groups or persons who have, in the opinion of the Minister, an interest in the matter, require the Commission to hold an inquiry into, and report to him on, the desirability of altering, under subsection (3) of this section, all or any of those values or sums specified by him.

The value of the assets of any participant in the aggregation proposal shall, for the purposes of this section and the Third Schedule to this Act, be determined by reference to the value at which, on the giving of notice under subsection (1) of this Act in respect of the aggregation proposal, the assets stand in the books of the participants, less any relevant provisions for depreciation:

Provided that where any assets (including goodwill) are shown as having a higher value in any valuation or assessment made for the purposes of the aggregation proposal the value of those assets shall be determined by that higher value and not by the value at which those assets stand in the books of the participant.

For the purposes of the Third Schedule to this Act, the assets involved in any aggregation proposal shall include—

The Examiner shall forward to the Minister every notice given under section 67(1) of this Act together with a provisional report indicating whether in the view of the Examiner the aggregation proposal would, if implemented, be contrary to the public interest.

Subject to subsections (3) to (5) of this section, the Minister may in his discretion, within 35 days after the date on which the notice of the aggregation proposal is given to the Examiner, consent to the aggregation proposal unless that proposal is one to which subsection (3) of this section applies.

Where the aggregation proposal is one that requires consent under any provision of the Overseas Investment Act 1973 or of any regulations made under that Act, the Minister may in his discretion, on or within 21 days after the day on which the Minister of Finance completes with him the consultation required by section 15a of that Act, and with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, consent to the proposal.

If, during the period specified in subsection (2) of this section, or if, in the case of a proposal to which subsection (3) of this section applies, during the period specified in subsection (3) of this section, the Minister forms the provisional view that the aggregation proposal may be against the public interest he shall not consent to the proposal but may, by notice in the Gazette, require the Commission to conduct an inquiry into the proposal for the purpose of determining whether in its view it is contrary to the public interest in terms of section 73 of this Act.

Before publishing a notice under subsection (4) of this section, the Minister shall give to the person who gave the notice under section 67(1) of this Act and to such other persons who, in the Minister’s opinion, have a direct interest in the subject-matter of the proposed inquiry, a written notice setting out the terms of the proposed notice and specifying a date on or before which that person or those persons may make written representations to the Minister with respect to the proposed notice.

For the purpose of giving any person an adequate opportunity to make written representations to the Minister, or, to enable the Minister to give consideration to any written representations made under subsection (5) of this section, the Minister may, by notice in writing to the person or persons notified under subsection (5) of this section, extend the period applicable pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, and any such period as so extended shall be deemed, for the purpose of this Part of this Act, to be the period applicable pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.

In any inquiry held by the Commission pursuant to a notice under subsection (4) of this section, no reference shall be made to the notice given by the Minister under subsection (5) of this section or to the nature and content of any representations made pursuant to subsection (5) of this section or to any consultations that may have been held with the Minister by the person or persons to whom the notice was given.

Where the Minister requires an inquiry to be held, the Examiner shall conduct an investigation into the aggregation proposal and report his findings to the Commission with or without recommendations.

It shall not be lawful for the aggregation proposal to be implemented while any application for consent to the proposal is pending under the Overseas Investment Act 1973 or any regulations made under that Act, or, unless the Minister consents to the aggregation proposal, during the period applicable pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.

If the Minister consents to the aggregation proposal it shall be lawful for the proposal to be implemented within the 12 months following the date of publication of the notice giving that consent.

Where the period applicable pursuant to subsection (4) of this section expires without the Minister having published a notice under that subsection in respect of the aggregation proposal, it shall be lawful for the proposal to be implemented within the 12 months following the expiration of that period unless the implementation of the proposal is unlawful under subsection (9) or subsection (12) of this section.

Nothing in this section shall limit the powers of the Minister of Finance, under the Overseas Investment Act 1973 or any regulations made under that Act, to refuse his consent to any aggregation proposal and if that Minister, acting under that Act or those regulations, refuses his consent to any aggregation proposal that proposal shall be deemed to have been prohibited by the Minister of Trade and Industry under section 76 of this Act.

Where the Commission is required by a notice published pursuant to section 68(4) of this Act, to conduct an inquiry into any aggregation proposal—

Before beginning the inquiry the Commission shall give to the persons who in its opinion are directly involved in the proposal a copy of the report made by the Examiner under section 68(8) of this Act and shall specify a time within which those persons shall supply to the Commission and the Examiner a written reply commenting on, agreeing with, or disputing, any of the contents, findings, or recommendations of the report.

In the course of any such inquiry the Commission shall have such regard as it thinks fit to any report of the Examiner, to any representations made to it by any person including the Examiner, and to any other matters it considers relevant.

The Commission shall, whenever it furnishes an initial, confirmed, or revised report to the Minister, send copies of that report to the persons directly involved in the proposed transaction and to the Examiner.

Where it appears to the Minister that a merger or takeover (other than one that is a consequence of an aggregation proposal required to be notified under section 67(1) of this Act) has or may have taken place, or that arrangements are or may be in progress or in contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in such a merger or takeover taking place, he may, if:

by notice in the Gazette, require the Commission to conduct an inquiry into the merger or takeover, and report on it to the Minister.

In every such report the Commission shall state—

Before publishing a notice under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister shall give to the person or persons who, in the Minister’s opinion, have a direct interest in the subject-matter of the proposed inquiry, a written notice setting out the terms of the proposed notice and specifying a date on or before which that person or those persons may make written representations to the Minister with respect to the proposed notice.

In any inquiry held by the Commission pursuant to a notice under subsection (1) of this section, no reference shall be made to the notice given by the Minister under subsection (3) of this section or to the nature and content of any representations made pursuant to subsection (3) of this section or to any consultations that may have been held with the Minister by the person or persons to whom the notice was given.

The power conferred on the Minister by subsection (1) of this section shall not be exercised—

The provisions of sections 68(8) and 69 of this Act shall apply with all necessary modifications to any notice given by the Minister under subsection (1) of this section and to any inquiry by the Commission as a result of any such notice.

Where the Commission finds that a merger or takeover has taken place and that the merger or takeover is or is likely to be contrary to the public interest, the Minister may, irrespective of whether the merger or takeover has resulted in or is likely to result in any monopoly or partial monopoly or oligopoly or any circumstances of the kind described in section 61(1)(a) of this Act,—

as he may consider necessary for the purpose of remedying or preventing the effects of the merger or takeover which are or are likely to be contrary to the public interest.

Where the Commission finds that arrangements are in progress or in contemplation which, if carried into effect, would result in a merger or takeover, the Minister may exercise in respect of those arrangements any of the powers conferred on him by section 76 of this Act, and the provisions of that section and of sections 77 to 79 of this Act shall apply accordingly, with all necessary modifications, as if those arrangements were a proposal notified under section 67(1) of this Act.

Where any arrangements are in contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in a merger or takeover (other than one that will be a consequence of an aggregation proposal required to be notified under section 67(1) of this Act) and all the persons who have control of the enterprises involved consent in writing to the proposed merger or takeover, any person acting on behalf of those persons may make written application to the Minister for his clearance of the proposed merger or takeover.

Every application under subsection (1) of this section shall contain a statement of all the relevant particulars relating to the proposed merger or takeover and the applicant shall provide such other information as the Minister requires.

The Minister may in his discretion—

Where the Minister refers a proposed merger or takeover to the Commission under subsection (3)(b) of this section, all the provisions of section 70 of this Act shall apply accordingly with such modifications as are necessary.

Where the Minister gives any such clearance in respect of a proposed merger or takeover, he shall not subsequently take any action under section 70 of this Act in respect of that merger or takeover, unless the merger or takeover or the arrangements in progress to effect the merger or takeover do not comply with the terms and conditions of the clearance.

If the Minister is of the opinion that the business or any activities or arrangements in the course of the business carried on by any person would be seriously prejudiced in a material respect if the Commission were to sit in public with respect to an aggregation proposal, he may in the notice signed by him under section 68(4) of this Act require the Commission to hold its inquiry into that proposal, or any part of it, in private and may, at the request of an interested party, direct that the notice be not published in the Gazette.

In determining for the purposes of this Part of this Act whether the existence of any complete or partial monopoly or of any oligopoly or of any circumstances that are tending to bring about any complete or partial monopoly or oligopoly or whether any aggregation proposal or any merger or takeover is or is likely to be contrary to the public interest regard shall be had not only to the provisions of section 21 of this Act but also to any economic or other effects which any such monopoly, oligopoly, circumstances, aggregation proposal, merger, or takeover has or is likely to have on the well-being of the people of New Zealand and which would not take place in the absence of the monopoly, oligopoly, circumstances, aggregation proposal, merger, or takeover.

Any of the parties to any inquiry held pursuant to section 61 of this Act or to a notice under section 68(4) or section 70 of this Act (including the Examiner) may exercise a right of appeal under this section if he is dissatisfied with the report or with any decision made by the Commission in the course of the inquiry on the ground that the report or the decision is erroneous in point of law.

Notice of any appeal under this section shall be given to the Commission, to the Minister, and to all parties to the inquiry within 21 days after a copy of the report has been given to the appellant.

The Minister, on receipt of the notice of appeal, shall appoint a person as an Appeal Authority who shall be a barrister or solicitor of the Supreme Court of not less than 7 years’ practice, whether or not he holds or has held judicial office.

The person appointed as Appeal Authority may hold that office concurrently with any other office held by him.

There shall be payable to the Appeal Authority out of the Consolidated Revenue Account such remuneration by way of fees, salary, and allowances as is fixed from time to time by the Minister of Finance:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall apply with respect to any person appointed as Appeal Authority who for the time being receives out of public money a salary in respect of any office that he holds concurrently with his office as Appeal Authority.

Before entering upon the duties of his office, the person appointed as Appeal Authority (not being a person who has already taken the judicial oath in respect of any other judicial office for the time being held by him) shall take and subscribe an oath before a Judge of the Supreme Court that he will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of his office.

The functions of the Appeal Authority shall be to sit as a judicial authority to determine appeals under this section.

The Appeal Authority shall determine its own procedure.

The Appeal Authority shall as soon as practicable hear the appeal and may—

In making any reference under subsection (1)(b) of this section, the Appeal Authority shall—

In giving further consideration to any matters on a reference under subsection (1)(b) of this section, the Commission shall have regard to the Appeal Authority’s reasons for making the reference and to the Appeal Authority’s directions under subsection (2)(b) of this section.

There shall be no appeal from any determination of the Commission made after further consideration pursuant to a reference under subsection (1)(b) of this section.

Every appeal shall be in the form of a case agreed upon by the Commission and the appellant, or, if they cannot agree, the Appeal Authority may hear the appeal without an agreed case.

Every party to the inquiry (including the Examiner) may be represented at the hearing of any appeal by its solicitor or counsel or agent.

Every decision of the Appeal Authority shall be final and binding on the persons affected thereby.

If the appellant does not prosecute his appeal with due diligence, the Appeal Authority may on the application of any person affected by the appeal (including the Examiner) dismiss the appeal, and thereupon the Commission’s report shall be deemed to have been confirmed.

The Minister may, in his discretion, within 1 month of the expiration of the time for lodging appeals against the Commission’s report or, in the case of an appeal, within 1 month after the revised or confirmed report is presented to him, by notice in the Gazette,—

Before publishing any notice pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section, the Minister shall invite the persons who are or have control of the participants involved in the proposal to confer with him for the purpose of reaching agreement on steps to be taken to remove his objections to the proposal.

If, within the said period of 1 month, the Minister consents to the proposal, it shall be lawful for the aggregation proposal to be implemented within the 12 months following the date of publication of the notice giving that consent.

If the said period of 1 month expires without the Minister having published a notice under subsection (1) of this section in respect of the aggregation proposal, it shall be lawful for the aggregation proposal to be implemented within the 12 months following the expiration of that period.

Where any aggregation proposal is implemented, then, every person who is knowingly concerned in or privy to the aggregation proposal commits an offence against this Act if—

No prosecution for an offence against this section shall be commenced except with the leave of the Minister.

Every person who commits an offence against section 77 of this Act is liable on conviction on indictment—

Notwithstanding anything in section 7 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, where any person is summarily convicted of any offence against this section the Court may sentence him to pay a fine not exceeding $20,000 whether or not, in the case of an individual, the person is sentenced to a term of imprisonment as well.

Where any aggregation proposal is implemented contrary to section 77 of this Act the Minister, without limiting the liability of any person to prosecution for an offence against this section,—

For the purpose of any investigation conducted by the Examiner under this Part of this Act, the Examiner, and any person authorised in that behalf by writing under the seal of the Commission, shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on him by section 38(2) of this Act.

Nothing in sections 65 to 80 of this Act shall apply to any transaction that requires consent under section 72 or section 73 of the Meat Act 1964.

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall affect the provisions of Part I of the Companies Amendment Act 1963 or the obligations of an offeror or of any other person under that Part of that Act.

The Minister may from time to time publish in the Gazette a notice, to be called the Positive List of Controlled Goods and Services, which shall specify the goods and services for the time being subject to price control.

Goods and services so specified shall be subject to price control under this Part of this Act.

Any notice published under this section may—

Any notice published under this section may identify the goods and services to which it relates—

Any notice published under this section may relate to goods and, with all necessary modifications, to services—

Subject to subsection (7) of this section, any notice under this section may be at any time amended or revoked by the Minister by a subsequent notice published in the Gazette.

Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, the Minister shall before amending or revoking any notice under this section first refer to the Commission the subject-matter of the proposed amendment or revocation for inquiry and report to him by such date as he shall specify.

Nothing in subsection (7) of this section shall require the Minister to make any reference to the Commission if, in his opinion, the making of a notice is required for the purpose of effecting—

If any amendment adds any goods or services to the Positive List in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (8)(a) of this section, any person or organisation or trade association representing the interests of any person or persons selling any such goods or supplying any such services may apply in writing to the Minister, not sooner than 6 months after the date of the publication of that amendment in the Gazette, for the omission of those goods or services from the Positive List and the Minister may, in his discretion, refer the matter to the Commission for inquiry and report to him by such date as he shall specify. If the Commission includes in its report a recommendation for the omission of all or any of those goods or services from the Positive List the Minister may, by notice published under subsection (6) of this section, give effect to that recommendation without further reference to the Commission and subsection (7) of this section shall be deemed to have been complied with.

Every report furnished by the Commission to the Minister shall include such recommendations as the Commission thinks fit.

Regulations made under this Act may provide for the imposition of price restraint in respect of goods and services (not being goods or services subject to price control under section 82 of this Act) which may be specified in the regulations or notified from time to time by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette.

Any such regulations or notice may specify circumstances in which any such goods or services are or are not to be subject to price restraint under this Part of this Act and the manner in which the prices of any such goods or services or any class of such goods or services are to be restrained.

Where any goods or services are subject to price control under section 82 of this Act and are not for the time being subject to a price order or to a special approval made or given under this Act, the maximum price that may be charged or received for any goods or services until a price order or special approval is in force in respect of those goods or services shall be the maximum price lawfully being charged, for goods or, as the case may be, services of that kind when sold in the same or substantially the same quantities and on the same or substantially the same terms on the day immediately before the date of the publication of the notice by which they are made subject to price control under section 82 of this Act or on such other day as is specified in that notice as the maximum price day in respect of those goods or services:

Provided that if there are no goods or services of the same kind sold in the same or substantially the same quantities and on the same or substantially the same terms on the day immediately before the date of the publication of the notice, or, if for any other cause the Secretary thinks fit, he may, with the authority of the Minister, fix on or immediately after the publication of the notice, by way of price order or special approval, the maximum, actual or minimum price, as the case may be, that may be charged or received for those goods or services pending an application under section 92 or a review under section 94 of this Act.

Nothing in this section shall apply in respect of any goods or services prohibited from sale pursuant to section 106 of this Act and nothing in this section shall affect any power to fix minimum or actual prices under this Part of this Act.

The general powers and functions of the Secretary under this Part of this Act shall be:

In the exercise of his functions under this Part of this Act or under any regulations made for the purposes of this Part of this Act, the Secretary may conduct such investigations as he thinks fit.

For the purposes of any investigation conducted by the Secretary, any person authorised in writing in that behalf by the Secretary may—

The Secretary may, if he thinks fit, require that any written information or particulars or any copies or extracts furnished under this section shall be verified by statutory declaration or otherwise as the Secretary may require.

The Secretary may from time to time, by notice given in such manner as he thinks fit, require any person engaged in the production, manufacture, distribution, or sale of goods, or all persons belonging to any specified class or to specified classes of persons so engaged (with or without exception) to furnish, within a specified time and in a specified form or in a form acceptable to the Secretary, returns setting forth all or any of the following particulars, namely:

Every return furnished under this section shall be verified by statutory declaration or otherwise as the Secretary may require.

In any prosecution for an offence against this Part of this Act, the production of any return furnished by the defendant under this section or under the corresponding provisions of the Control of Prices Act 1947, or the production of any copy of or extract from any such return, verified as such by the statutory declaration of the Secretary, shall in the absence of proof to the contrary be sufficient evidence against the defendant of the truth of the statements contained therein.

Any person authorised in writing in that behalf by the Secretary may at any reasonable time enter upon and search any premises used or reasonably supposed to be used for the manufacture or storage of goods intended for sale, and may inspect and take records of any stocks of goods found thereon or therein, and may on payment or tender of a reasonable price, take samples of any such goods.

Every person authorised in writing as aforesaid shall produce his authority when so required by any person on whose premises he enters in the course of his duty.

Every person who falsely represents himself to be a person authorised in writing as aforesaid commits an offence against this Act.

The Secretary may from time to time make orders (in this Act referred to as price orders) fixing, in such manner as he thinks fit, the actual or the maximum or the minimum prices that may be charged or received for any goods, or services to which any such order relates and which are subject to price control under section 82 of this Act.

In any price order the Secretary, having regard to different forms, modes, or conditions of sale or delivery, or to the purposes for which any goods are used or intended to be used, or to the places or localities at or within which any goods are sold or delivered, or to any other relevant considerations, may fix different prices for goods of the same kind or class, and, in particular, may fix different prices in respect of sales of any of the following classes, namely:

Any price order may be limited in its application to sales of any one or more of the classes referred to in subsection (2) of this section.

The Secretary may, in like manner, in any price order relating to services fix different prices for services of the same kind or class to meet differing circumstances relating to the supply of those services.

In any price order the Secretary may include such provisions, not inconsistent with this Act, as he thinks necessary or desirable for the proper administration of the price order or to ensure compliance with the terms thereof, and every person shall be deemed to have committed an offence against this Act who commits a breach of or fails to comply with any obligations imposed on him by any such provisions.

Any price order may be at any time in like manner amended with respect to the prices fixed thereby or in any other particular or respect, or may be at any time in like manner revoked.

Every price order shall be published in the Gazette, and no price order shall come into force before it has been so published.

On and after the expiration of 14 days from the date of publication in the Gazette of a price order fixing the retail price of any goods or services it shall be the duty of every person who in the course of trade, sells those goods at retail or supplies those services to keep a copy of the price order, or a statement of the retail prices fixed thereby in respect of any goods or services, prominently displayed in his shop or place of trade in such a position that customers may examine the price order or statement without having to ask for its production or without having to obtain permission to examine it:

Provided that if the Secretary declares that this subsection shall not apply to any price order or class of price orders specified in the declaration, this subsection shall not apply with respect to that price order or class of price orders so long as the declaration continues in force.

Every price order made by the Price Tribunal constituted under the Control of Prices Act 1947 and in force at the commencement of this Act, shall be deemed to be a price order made under this section.

The Secretary may, by approval given in accordance with this section, authorise a maximum selling price in respect of the sale of any goods or services which are subject to price control under section 82 of this Act.

Any approval given for the purposes of this section—

Any approval given for the purpose of this section may specify the maximum prices that may be charged for the goods or services to which the approval relates, or may fix the maximum prices that may be so charged in any manner that the Secretary thinks fit.

Any approval given under this section shall to the extent thereof operate as if it were a price order fixing the approved price as the maximum price of the goods or services to which it relates.

The provisions of section 89 of this Act, as to price orders, other than the provisions contained in subsections (7) and (8) thereof, shall, so far as applicable and subject to any necessary modifications, apply with respect to approvals given under this section in the same manner as they apply to price orders.

The Secretary, in any price order made or special approval given by him, may instead of fixing maximum selling prices, stipulate the maximum margins or mark-ups, which a person or class of person to whom the order or special approval or any part of it relates, shall apply to a cost price, fixed or defined by the aforesaid order or special approval, in order to calculate the maximum selling prices which may be charged or received by that person or class of persons.

The Secretary, in any price order made or special approval given by him, may stipulate the aggregate margin (inclusive or exclusive of freight) that may be applied as between the landed cost or the into-store cost or the manufacturer’s selling price, as the case may be, of any goods sold by any one or more wholesalers and the selling price of the goods to any retailer or class of retailer.

Nothing in this section shall limit the provisions of sections 89 and 90 of this Act.

Any manufacturer, packer, importer, wholesaler, retailer, or other trader or seller or supplier of goods or services may, in respect of any goods or services which are sold or supplied by him and which are specified in a notice made pursuant to section 82 of this Act, apply to the Secretary for an amendment to any price order or special approval remaining in force in respect of those goods or services or, as the case may be, for a price order or special approval.

Every such application shall be accompanied by such information as the Secretary requires and the applicant shall also supply to the Secretary such additional information as may be required by regulations made under this Act.

Except where the Secretary is required by section 93 of this Act to refer the application to the Commission, he may deal with the application himself or may recommend to the Minister that he refer the application to the Commission to be dealt with in terms of section 104 of this Act.

If the Secretary does not so recommend, or if the Minister does not accept his recommendation, the Secretary shall consider the application on its merits, and having regard to his duties under sections 97 and 98 of this Act, shall either approve the application, in whole or in part, or refuse it.

Where the Secretary has approved an application, in whole or in part, he may, for the purpose of giving effect to his decision exercise any of the powers conferred on him by sections 89 to 91 of this Act.

The Secretary may, as a condition of the approval of any application, require the applicant to publish or communicate to buyers, in such manner as the Secretary thinks fit, such information relating to the decision as the Secretary requires.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, each group price increase application shall be referred by the Secretary to the Commission unless—

Every group price increase application referred to the Commission under subsection (1) of this section shall be dealt with by the Commission as if it had been referred to the Commission by the Minister in terms of section 104 of this Act:

Provided that nothing in this subsection or in subsection (1) of this section shall require the Commission to deal with a group price increase application made by persons who are carrying on or propose to carry on a collective pricing practice (with respect to the goods or services in respect of which the group price increase application is made) to which section 27(1) of this Act applies if—

Without limiting section 6(1) or section 8 of this Act or paragraph (b) of the proviso to subsection (2) of this section, the Chairman of the Commission may direct that any group price increase application made by persons carrying on or proposing to carry on a collective pricing practice, and referred to the Commission under subsection (1) of this section, shall be dealt with by the Commission sitting jointly in the matter of that application and the application for the approval of the collective pricing practice.

In this section the expression “group price increase application” means every application made under section 92 of this Act, by or on behalf of two or more persons, for an increase in the price, or the mark-up or margin included in the price, or any change in the terms of sale, or any variation in any of the terms of the pricing formula used in the calculation of the price, of any goods or services, on the basis of all manufacturers, or, as the case may be, all suppliers of services, or importers, wholesalers, or retailers or any two or more of them (whether or not such an increase or variation would result in the same or substantially the same prices being charged by any two or more of such persons); and includes every application made by a single trader for any such increase or variation where the approval of that application would, by itself or with others, result in a uniform price being charged for any goods or services by two or more traders notwithstanding that any one or more of those traders was lawfully permitted under this Part of this Act to charge a price higher than the price actually being charged.

Notwithstanding anything in this Part of this Act the Secretary may, on his own motion, but with the consent of the Minister, and after giving notice to the interested parties of his intention to do so, review the prices being charged for any goods or services, the margins incorporated in any such prices, and the terms of any pricing formula used in the calculation of charges for goods or services.

Where the review made by the Secretary relates to goods and services which are subject to price control under this Part of this Act, he may, for the purpose of giving effect to the findings of his review, exercise any of the powers conferred on him by any of the provisions of sections 89 to 91 of this Act.

Where the review made by the Secretary relates to goods or services which are not subject to price control under this Part of this Act, he shall report the findings of his review to the Minister together with any recommendation he has for making those goods or services subject to price control under this Part of this Act.

The Secretary shall give in writing to the applicant, and to any other person whom he regards as having a direct interest in any decision that he has made in relation to the price of goods or services, his reasons for the decision, if the applicant or any such other person so requests.

Proceedings of the Secretary under this Part of this Act shall not be held bad for want of form. Except on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, no order, approval, proceeding, or decision of the Secretary under this Part of this Act shall be liable to be challenged, reviewed, quashed, or called in question in any Court, but there shall be a right of appeal to the Commission in accordance with section 99 of this Act.

Before coming to any decision on any application lodged under section 92 of this Act, or making any price order or giving any special approval in respect of any goods or services following a review under section 94 of this Act of the prices being charged for those goods or services, the Secretary shall ensure that the applicant and such other persons as in his opinion have a direct interest in the matter are given—

In any proceedings under this Part of this Act, including appeal proceedings, the Secretary or the Commission, as the case may be, shall have due regard to:

The Commission shall sit as a judicial authority for the determination of appeals from the whole or any part of any decision of the Secretary under section 84, section 89, section 90, section 91, section 92(4), or section 94(2) of this Act.

The following persons, and no other, may appeal against the whole or any part of any decision of the Secretary under section 84, section 89, section 90, section 91, section 92(4), or section 94(2) of this Act:

Every appeal under this section shall be made to the Commission in writing setting out the particulars of the decision to which the appeal relates and the grounds for appeal, within 21 days after the date of the decision or within such extended time as the Commission may allow.

The Commission shall send a copy of the notice of appeal to the Secretary, who shall forthwith furnish to the Commission the reasons for his decision and all the evidence on which it was based. He shall also, as soon as practicable, provide to the Commission, in a form required by it, any restatement of information (including financial figures) relevant to the decision and available to him at the time of his decision. A copy of all such documents or other material so furnished to the Commission shall be given to the appellant as soon as practicable.

As soon as conveniently may be after the receipt of any appeal by the Commission, the Commission shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the appeal, shall give not less than 14 clear days public notice thereof, and shall also give not less than 14 clear days notice in writing thereof to the appellant and to the Secretary.

The decision of the Secretary appealed from shall remain in full force pending the determination of the appeal except where, in the case of a decision made pursuant to section 94(2) of this Act and effecting a reduction of prices, the Secretary or the Commission otherwise orders.

At the hearing of any appeal to the Commission, the Commission shall hear and consider all evidence tendered and representations made by or on behalf of the appellant and any other person entitled to or authorised to appeal under section 99(2) of this Act who may wish to take part in the proceedings.

At the hearing of any appeal to the Commission against a decision of the Secretary, the Secretary shall be represented and shall make such submissions as he thinks fit.

After hearing the evidence and representations as aforesaid, the Commission may confirm, discharge or vary the decision of the Secretary and generally make such orders as it considers just and equitable in the circumstances of the case. Every such order shall take effect from the date thereof or from such later date as may be specified therein.

For the purpose of implementing any decision of the Commission on any such appeal, the Commission shall have the same powers to issue price orders and special approvals as are conferred on the Secretary by sections 89 to 91 of this Act.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 101 of this Act, the Commission may in any case, instead of determining any appeal, refer the matter back to the Secretary for reconsideration together with a note of the matters to be taken into account in such reconsideration.

There shall be no appeal from any decision of the Secretary made in any matter after that matter has been referred back to him for further consideration.

The determination of the Commission in any appeal shall be communicated by the Executive Officer to the Secretary and to all other parties to the appeal. The Executive Officer shall also give public notice of the Commission’s decision together with all other relevant particulars.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Part of this Act, the Minister may—

by notice in writing, require the Commission to conduct a public inquiry into any matter related to the prices of goods or services or into the subject-matter of any application made under section 92 of this Act, and, except in the case of any such application, to report its findings and recommendations to him by such date as he shall specify.

Where the Commission receives a notice from the Minister under subsection (1) of this section it shall fix a date and place for the holding of the inquiry and shall give adequate public notice thereof in such newspapers as it thinks fit. The Commission shall also give notice in writing to the Secretary, the applicant (if any), and such other persons as it thinks fit.

For the purpose of dealing with any application under section 92 of this Act the Commission shall have the powers exercisable by the Secretary under any of the provisions of sections 89 to 91 of this Act.

In determining prices after conducting a public inquiry under this section the Commission shall have regard to the considerations set out in section 98 of this Act and in making any report to the Minister shall have regard to those same considerations, as well as to any other matters that the Minister has asked in writing be taken into account.

No appeal shall lie from any order, direction, or decision of the Commission under this Part of this Act.

Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the Secretary may at any time by notice published in the Gazette and in such other manner, if any, as he thinks fit, declare any goods or services or goods or services belonging to a specified kind or class to be goods or services to which the provisions of this section shall be applicable. Any notice given under this subsection may be of general application to all goods or services specified or referred to therein or may be limited in its application to goods belonging to or in the disposition of any person, or to services supplied by any particular person or class of person, or may be otherwise limited in any manner that the Secretary thinks fit.

By the same or a subsequent notice, given in such manner as the Secretary deems adequate in the circumstances of the case, the Secretary may prohibit absolutely or conditionally the sale of any such goods or services by any specified person or by any person of a specified class or by any person whomsoever unless a selling price or a maximum selling price applicable to the sale has been fixed or approved by a price order or a special approval under this Part of this Act.

Every person who, while a notice under subsection (2) of this section remains in force, sells or agrees or offers to sell any goods in contravention of the terms of that notice shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

If in any proceedings for an offence against this section the defendant alleges that the goods or any of the goods to which the proceedings relate were not goods subject to the terms of a notice given by the Secretary under this section the burden of proving in respect of those goods that they were not subject to the terms of such notice shall be on the defendant.

This section shall apply only to goods and services and classes of goods and services which are for the time being subject to price control under section 82 of this Act.

Any person directly affected by any decision of the Secretary under this section may appeal therefrom to the Commission, as if that decision were made under section 92(4) of this Act, and the provisions of this Act in so far as they relate to appeals from decisions under the said section 92(4) shall apply accordingly with all necessary modifications.

Where a price order or special approval is in force in respect of any goods or services, no person shall charge or receive or attempt to charge or receive a price in respect of any new variety, type, or pack of those goods or of any new method of supplying those services unless that price has the approval of the Secretary.

Every application for approval shall be in accordance with section 92 of this Act as if it were an application under that section.

Any person directly affected by any decision of the Secretary on any application made pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may appeal therefrom to the Commission, as if that decision were made under section 92 of this Act, and the provisions of this Act in so far as they relate to appeals from decisions under the said section 92 shall apply accordingly with all necessary modifications.

Every person who acts in contravention of subsection (1) of this section commits an offence against this Act.

The Minister may, from time to time, by notice published in the Gazette, direct that any retailers or class or classes of retailers specified in the notice who offer or expose for sale any goods specified in the notice which are not for the time being subject to a price order or special approval under this Part of this Act shall keep in a prominent position in such proximity to the goods to which it relates as to be obviously in relation thereto a ticket, placard, or label on which is stated in legible and prominent characters the retail price of the goods or the retail price per unit of weight or measurement as prescribed in the notice, whichever is appropriate, and any other details specified in the notice which the Minister considers necessary for identifying the goods.

The Minister may also by the same notice, or by a separate notice published in the Gazette, direct that any retailer or class or classes of retailers specified in the notice shall keep a statement of the retail price of any goods specified in the notice prominently displayed in such one or more places in their shops as the notice specifies.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who does any act in contravention of or fails to comply in any respect with any obligation or duty imposed on him by any notice published under this section.

Where a written application has been made to the Secretary for an approval of a price under section 92 of this Act, nothing in this Part of this Act shall render unlawful any contract of sale between the applicant and any other person in respect of goods to which the application relates if—

Except as expressly provided in this section, nothing in this section shall limit the provisions of section 106 of this Act.

For the purposes of this section—

The disposition of any goods by a hire purchase agreement entered into after the 1st day of December 1947 (being the date of the coming into force of the Control of Prices Act 1947) shall be deemed for the purpose of this Act and for the purpose of any orders, approvals or other acts of authority that originated under the Control of Prices Act 1947, and continue in force by virtue of section 133 of this Act, to be a sale of those goods from the vendor to the purchaser on the date on which possession of the goods is delivered to the purchaser. Where in any hire purchase agreement the amount to be paid or other consideration to be given is separately fixed with respect to any item or items, the agreement shall, for the purposes of this Act and for the purpose of any orders, approvals, or other acts of authority that originated under the Control of Prices Act 1947, and continue in force by virtue of this Act, be deemed to be a separate agreement in its application to each of the items for which the consideration is so fixed.

The purchase price of any goods subject to a hire purchase agreement as aforesaid shall be deemed to be the total amount of the money required to be paid for those goods by the purchaser under the agreement and the value of any other consideration provided or required to be provided by the purchaser.

Where any local authority is empowered by any Act to fix or approve prices for any goods sold by any person other than the local authority, the powers of the local authority shall be subject to the following restrictions, namely—

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, where any local authority, purporting to be acting under the authority of any Act, has heretofore fixed or approved any prices, those prices shall be deemed to have been lawfully fixed or approved and shall continue to operate as maximum prices until reduced by the local authority of its own motion or by direction of the Secretary or the Commission, or until altered by the Secretary or the Commission by means of a price order or unless and until other prices have been approved by the Secretary or the Commission.

Where the seller of any goods has been authorised by the Secretary or the Commission, in or for the purposes of any price order or special approval, to take any freight charges into account in ascertaining the selling price or the maximum selling price of any goods, the maximum amount that may be taken into account in respect of such charges shall, in case of dispute, be provisionally fixed by the Secretary or Commission, as the case may require, and in any proceedings in which the amount of such freight charges is in issue the burden of proving that the actual freight charges exceeded the amount provisionally fixed shall be on the defendant.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who—

While a price order or a special approval in respect of any goods or services remains in force every person who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, sells or agrees or offers to sell any goods or services to which the order or approval relates for a price that is not in conformity with the order or approval commits an offence against this Act.

While a price order or a special approval in respect of any goods or services remains in force every person who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, sells any goods or services to which the order or approval relates and thereafter demands for any such goods or services a price that is not in conformity with the order or approval commits an offence against this Act.

While a price order or a special approval in respect of any goods or services remains in force every person who, whether as buyer or seller or otherwise howsoever, is party to any device, plan, or scheme for the purchase or sale of any goods to which the order or approval relates at a price that is not in conformity with the order or approval commits an offence against this Act.

For the purposes of this section, the price of any goods or services, shall be deemed to be not in conformity with an order or approval if there has been any variation in the nature, quality, or quantity of the goods or services (in relation to any other goods or services which the seller was selling at the maximum price so fixed or approved under this Part of this Act) or of the terms of sale of the goods or services (in relation to the terms of sale of any other goods or services which the seller was selling at the maximum price so fixed or approved under this Part of this Act), being a variation that is disadvantageous to the purchaser of the goods or services, without any proportionate reduction in price.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall, with the necessary modifications, apply with respect to the sale or offer for sale, at a price in excess of the appropriate maximum price, of any goods and services if at the time of the sale or offer the maximum price was determined by section 84 of this Act.

While a price order or a special approval in respect of any goods remains in force, every person commits an offence against this Act who, whether as principal or agent, and whether by himself or his agent, sells or agrees or offers to sell any goods to which the order or approval relates together with any other goods of a different kind or class, unless the price demanded or received for the first-mentioned goods is specified separately, whether or not the other goods are subject to the same or any other price order or special approval:

Provided that this section shall not apply with respect to any sale or agreement or offer to sell made or entered into with the authority in writing of the Secretary.

Every person who commits any offence against this Part of this Act is liable—

In this section the expression “authorised price” in relation to any goods or services, means the price or the maximum price for which those goods may lawfully be sold.

On the conviction of any person of an offence involving the sale of any goods or services at a price in excess of the authorised price the convicting Court, on application by or on behalf of the Secretary, may make an order for payment by the defendant of an amount not exceeding the difference (to be ascertained and specified by the Court) between the price actually charged by the defendant and the authorised price.

All money payable pursuant to an order made under this section shall be recoverable, in accordance with the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, in the same manner as fines and costs are recoverable.

Where in any such case the convicting Court is satisfied that the whole or any part of the price has been paid to the defendant by any other person, the Court, if having regard to all the circumstances of the case it deems it just and equitable so to do, may make an order authorising the payment to that other person of such amount as the Court thinks fit, not exceeding the amount by which the price paid exceeded the authorised price.

An order made under subsection (4) of this section shall be sufficient authority to the Registrar of the Court to pay the amount so authorised:

Providing that in no case shall the total amounts so paid exceed the amount recovered from the defendant under this section.

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall affect the exercise by any person of any power to fix prices or charges in accordance with any of the Acts specified in the First Schedule to this Act or under any other Act for the time being prescribed by regulations under this Act as an Act to which this section applies.

Any notice, special approval, or decision given by the Commission under or for the purposes of this Part of this Act shall be deemed to be sufficiently given if it is given in writing signed by one or more members of the Commission or by any person purporting to act by direction of the Commission and is delivered or posted to the person or persons primarily concerned therewith or to any person or organisation deemed by the Commission to represent the person or persons primarily concerned.

The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall apply with all necessary modifications to any notice or special approval given by the Secretary under this Part of this Act.

The Examiner may from time to time, by writing under his hand, delegate to any person any of his powers under this Act or any regulations made thereunder or any powers conferred on him under any other enactment, except this power of delegation.

The Secretary may from time to time delegate to any person any of the powers or functions conferred on him by this Act or by regulations made under this Act, except this present power of delegation.

Any delegation under this section may be made to a specified officer or to officers of a specified class, or may be made to the holder for the time being of a specified office or appointment or to the holders of offices or appointments of a specified class.

Any delegation may be made subject to such conditions and restrictions as the Examiner or, as the case may require, the Secretary thinks fit, and may be made either generally or in relation to any particular matter or class of matters.

Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions or restrictions imposed by the Examiner or, as the case may require, the Secretary, any person to whom any powers or functions are delegated may exercise those powers or functions in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred directly by this Act or regulations made thereunder or, as the case may require, by any other enactment, and not by delegation.

Every person purporting to act pursuant to any delegation shall be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation, in the absence of proof to the contrary.

The delegation of any power or function shall not prevent the exercise of that power or function by the Examiner, or, as the case may require, the Secretary.

Any delegation may be revoked or amended at any time.

Until it is revoked or amended every delegation shall continue in force according to its tenor, notwithstanding the fact that the Examiner, the Secretary, or other person by or to whom it was made may have ceased to hold office; and in any such case the delegation shall continue in force as if made by or to the successor in office of the Examiner, the Secretary, or any such other person, as the case may be.

Any notice or other document required or authorised to be served on or given to any person for the purposes of this Act may be served or given by delivering it to that person, or by leaving it at his usual or last known place of residence or business or at the address specified by him in any application or other document under this Act, or by posting it by letter addressed to him at that place of residence or business or at that address.

If any such notice or other document is sent to any person by registered letter, then, unless the contrary is shown, it shall be deemed to have been delivered to him when it would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post, and in proving the delivery it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and posted.

Where for any purpose under this Act a notice or document is required to be served on a trade association, the notice or document may be served on the secretary, manager, or other similar officer of the association; and for the purposes of this Act service on the association shall, unless otherwise directed by the Commission, be deemed to be service on all persons who are members of the association or who are represented on the association by those members.

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, the Commission may in any case direct the manner in which any notice or other document is to be served or given, or dispense with the service or giving thereof.

Nothing in this section shall limit the provisions of section 119 of this Act.

The Chairman of the Commission may on the application of any party to any proceedings before the Commission, or of its own motion, state a case for the opinion of the Supreme Court on any question of law arising in any matter before the Commission. Every such case stated shall be heard and determined by the Administrative Division of the Court.

All the provisions of this Act, as far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply with respect to the performance of services (otherwise than pursuant to a contract of service between master and servant) and the rates or fees charged therefor and the costs of providing the services in the same manner as they apply in respect of the sale of goods and the prices charged for goods and the costs of the production, manufacture, transport, storage, and distribution of goods.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, every person carrying on any trade which includes the production, manufacture, sale, or supply of any goods or services shall keep proper books and accounts and costing records (including any that may be specifically required by regulations issued under this Act) relating thereto.

This section shall not require the retention of any books or accounts or costing records—

Every person commits an offence who contravenes subsection (1) of this section.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, having been summoned to appear before the Commission for the purposes of any inquiry, refuses or wilfully neglects to appear before the Commission in pursuance of the summons, or to take an oath or make an affirmation as a witness, or to answer any question put to him concerning the subject-matter of the inquiry, or to produce to the Commission any book or document or other written information that he is required to produce, or deceives or attempts to deceive or knowingly misleads the Commission on any evidence given or otherwise proffered.

Every person commits an offence against this Act who—