This subpart applies to—

In this subpart, specified engine fuel—

A wholesale supplier must publicly post a price (a terminal gate price) for each specified engine fuel that it has the right to draw at a bulk storage facility for the specified engine fuel.

The wholesale supplier must comply with any requirements of regulations made under this subpart relating to publicly posting a terminal gate price.

The wholesale supplier may change the terminal gate price for a specified engine fuel at any time.

Subsection (3) is subject to Part 2A, if that Part applies.

A reseller may, in accordance with any regulations made under this subpart, request a wholesale supplier to supply, at a bulk storage facility and on the day of the request, an amount of a specified engine fuel at its terminal gate price.

The reseller may withdraw the request at any time before the request is accepted by the wholesale supplier.

The wholesale supplier must supply the reseller with the requested amount at its terminal gate price, unless the wholesale supplier has reasonable grounds to refuse to supply.

The price payable by the reseller for the specified engine fuel must not exceed the terminal gate price posted at the time the request is made.

The wholesale supplier must comply with any terms and conditions prescribed by regulations made under this subpart that apply to the wholesale supplier.

The wholesale supplier has reasonable grounds to refuse to supply only if—

A wholesale supplier is not entitled to rely on subsection (1)(e) in respect of supply of specified engine fuel to an independent reseller during a prescribed time period except to the extent that supply of the specified engine fuel would require the wholesale supplier to supply more than the prescribed minimum supply amount to independent resellers during that period.

A wholesale supplier to which subsection (1)(e)(i) and (ii) applies (that is, the wholesale supplier requires the specified engine fuel that it has available to supply to meet obligations under its contracts with end users or its fixed wholesale contracts or to meet forecast demand) must provide or publish a notice in accordance with any regulations made under this subpart.

A wholesale supplier that has supplied the prescribed minimum supply amount to an independent reseller (or to independent resellers) during a prescribed time period must provide or publish a notice in accordance with any regulations made under this subpart.

For the purposes of this section, independent reseller means a reseller that is not—

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations—

The Minister may make a recommendation only if—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

This subpart applies to fixed wholesale contracts for any engine fuel.

A wholesale supplier must ensure that the terms of its fixed wholesale contracts are expressed clearly, concisely, and in plain language.

A wholesale supplier must ensure that—

A wholesale supplier must not vary the pricing method specified in a fixed wholesale contract, except in accordance with any regulations made under this subpart.

A distributor may terminate a fixed wholesale contract with a wholesale supplier at any time after it has been in force for longer than the maximum duration prescribed by any regulations made under this subpart.

Subsection (1) does not apply if—

A distributor may terminate a fixed wholesale contract under subsection (1) by giving reasonable notice in writing to the wholesale supplier.

A provision in a fixed wholesale contract is of no effect to the extent that it requires the distributor to purchase from the wholesale supplier more than the maximum percentage (as prescribed by any regulations made under this subpart) of the distributor’s annual requirement for engine fuel.

A wholesale supplier must not enter into a fixed wholesale contract that contains a provision of the kind described in subsection (1).

Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if a provision of the kind referred to in subsection (1) is reasonably necessary to enable, or to enable the recovery of, specific investment by the wholesale supplier for the benefit of the distributor.

A wholesale supplier may, in any fixed wholesale contract with a distributor, require the distributor,—

A wholesale supplier must not enter into a fixed wholesale contract that contains a provision that—

A provision that is prohibited under subsection (1) is of no effect.

In determining whether a provision of a wholesale contract is prohibited under subsection (1), a court must take into account—

Without limiting subsection (1)(a), the following are examples of provisions that may be likely to limit the ability of the reseller to compete with the wholesale supplier or any other person:

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations—

The Minister may make a recommendation under subsection (1) only if—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The purpose of this subpart is to provide transparency in retail fuel prices so that end users are able to make informed purchasing decisions.

A retailer, or the person responsible for displaying information at a retail fuel site, must comply with any requirements prescribed by regulations made under this subpart.

If satisfied that a retailer, or a person responsible for displaying information at a retail fuel site, has failed to comply with any requirements prescribed by regulations under this subpart, the Commission may, by written notice given to the retailer or person, require the retailer or person to take any steps specified in the notice to—

A notice given under this section must specify a reasonable period (a specified period) within which the required steps must be taken.

A retailer, or person responsible for displaying information at a retail fuel site, given a notice under this section must comply with the notice within the specified period.

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations prescribing requirements relating to the display of information at retail fuel sites about the price of engine fuels.

In particular, the regulations may prescribe—

The Minister may make a recommendation under subsection (1) only if—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The purposes of this subpart are—

Every fuel industry participant to which requirements prescribed by the regulations made under this subpart apply must comply with those requirements.

Without limiting subsection (1), a fuel industry participant must disclose information to the chief executive or the Commission in any circumstances prescribed by the regulations.

The fuel industry participant must disclose the information in any form and manner specified by the chief executive or the Commission (as the case may be).

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations prescribing requirements relating to record keeping, and the retention and disclosure of information, about engine fuel markets.

In particular, the regulations may prescribe—

The Minister may make a recommendation under subsection (1) only if—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The chief executive or the Commission may,—

In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The process for imposing price regulation on particular terminal gate prices involves the following steps:

This section is intended only as a guide to the general scheme and effect of this Part.

If terminal gate prices are subject to price regulation, every wholesale supplier must comply with every determination made under section 29L applying to those prices and the supplier.

Sections 30 to 38 (which relate to civil proceedings relating to contraventions of this Part) apply to a wholesale supplier on and from the date on which the wholesale supplier is obliged to comply with a relevant determination made under section 29L.

The Commission is entitled to exercise any of its powers under this Act and under the Commerce Act 1986 (as applied by this Act) for the purpose of monitoring compliance with price regulation.

The Commission may make a recommendation that price regulation should be imposed on terminal gate prices only if it is satisfied that the relevant wholesale supplier has posted terminal gate prices, for the relevant specified engine fuel and bulk storage facility, that were above what would be expected in a competitive market.

The Commission—

In both cases, the Minister must specify a time frame within which the Commission must make a recommendation under section 29G to the Minister.

In conducting an inquiry into particular terminal gate prices, the Commission must consider—

During an inquiry, the Commission may have regard to any other matters it considers necessary or desirable for the purpose of the inquiry.

At the start of an inquiry, the Commission must publish in the Gazette a notice setting out,—

The notice must set out indicative time frames and key steps.

Before making a recommendation under section 29G, the Commission must consult interested persons about the proposed recommendation (including the Commission’s reasons for proposing to make a recommendation).

At the end of an inquiry, having considered the matters in section 29E, the Commission must make a recommendation to the Minister on whether, in its opinion, price regulation should be imposed on all or any of the terminal gate prices that were the subject of the inquiry.

If the Commission recommends that price regulation should be imposed on particular terminal gate prices, the recommendation must state—

The Commission must make the recommendation publicly available as soon as practicable after making it, including a statement of its reasons for making the recommendation.

To avoid doubt, a recommendation by the Commission is not a determination of the Commission.

The Minister must consider any recommendation of the Commission made under section 29G.

As part of that consideration, the Minister—

The Minister must make publicly available any request made under subsection (2)(c), and the Commission must make publicly available its advice given following that request.

If the Commission receives a request under subsection (2)(c), it may, at its discretion,—

Having considered the Commission’s recommendation in accordance with section 29H, the Minister must—

The Minister’s decision may be—

If the Minister’s decision is different from the Commission’s recommendation, the Minister must set out the reasons for the decision and make the decision, with the reasons, publicly available.

The Governor-General may, on the recommendation of the Minister made under section 29I, make an Order in Council imposing regulation on particular terminal gate prices.

The order must declare that the terminal gate prices are regulated under this Part.

The order may identify the terminal gate prices it relates to by reference to all or any of—

The order must include an expiry date (which must be a date not later than 5 years after its commencement date) at the close of which the order is revoked.

Despite subsection (4), the order may be earlier revoked in the manner in which it was made.

An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

An Order in Council made under section 29J in respect of particular terminal gate prices may not be revoked or significantly amended unless the Commission has held an inquiry into the terminal gate prices.

In subsection (1), significantly amended means amended in a way that materially alters the terminal gate prices to which the price regulation applies, so that—

An Order in Council made under section 29J may be amended in any other material way only after the Commission has consulted with interested parties, but may be amended in a non-material way without prior consultation.

The Commission must make determinations under this section specifying how price regulation applies to wholesale suppliers and regulated terminal gate prices.

In considering whether the Act’s purpose is promoted in making a determination, the Commission must take into account the outcomes that would be expected in a competitive market, including wholesale suppliers’ incentives to invest to meet the demand of end users of engine fuel products.

Determinations must be made—

Determinations must—

It is not necessary for a single determination to address all matters relating to particular regulated terminal gate prices, or to a wholesale supplier of regulated terminal gate prices, and different parts of any determination may come into effect at different times.

A determination under this section may require a wholesale supplier to comply with the requirements set out in any other determination that has been made under this section in respect of regulated terminal gate prices of the same type.

The Commission must, as soon as practicable after making a determination under this section, give to each wholesale supplier to which the determination relates notice of the determination and where it is available.

Each wholesale supplier to which the determination relates must comply with the requirements imposed by the determination.

A determination under this section and an amendment to a determination are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

A determination made under section 29L may be amended in a material way only after the Commission has consulted with interested parties, but may be amended in a non-material way without prior consultation.

However, the Commission is not required to conduct an inquiry before amending a determination.

As soon as practicable after making an amendment, the Commission must give to each wholesale supplier to which the determination relates notice of the amendment and where it is available.

This Part does not limit subpart 2 of Part 4 of the Commerce Act 1986, which allows for regulation to be imposed on particular goods or services.

The following provisions of the Commerce Act 1986 apply to this Part with any necessary modifications (including the following modifications):

This section does not limit the application of other provisions of the Commerce Act 1986.

The High Court may, on the application of the Commission, order a person to pay to the Crown a pecuniary penalty if satisfied that the person—

The High Court may, on the application of the Commission or the chief executive, order a person to pay to the Crown a pecuniary penalty if satisfied that the person—

The amount of any pecuniary penalty under subsection (1) or (2) must not exceed,—

The District Court may, on the application of the Commission, order a person to pay to the Crown a pecuniary penalty if satisfied that the person—

The amount of any pecuniary penalty under subsection (4) must not exceed,—

In determining an appropriate penalty under this section, the court must have regard to,—

Where conduct by any person constitutes a contravention of 2 or more provisions referred to in subsection (1)(a), proceedings may be instituted under this Act against that person in relation to the contravention of any 1 or more of the provisions.

However, no person is liable to more than 1 pecuniary penalty under this section in respect of the same conduct.

In any proceedings under this subpart for a pecuniary penalty,—

If a court orders a person to pay a pecuniary penalty under section 30 in respect of a contravention of this Act, the court may, in addition, order the person to pay compensation to any person who has suffered, or is likely to suffer, loss or damage as a result of the contravention.

An application for orders under this section may be made by the Commission.

The application must be made as part of proceedings under section 30.

In proceedings under this section, the court may make any orders as to costs that it thinks fit.

The following provisions of the Commerce Act 1986 apply to this subpart with any necessary modifications:

Proceedings brought under this Act are in addition to any proceedings brought under any other Act.

The court may, on the application of the Commission or any other person, grant an injunction—

The court may at any time rescind or vary an injunction granted under this subpart.

The court may grant an injunction restraining a person from engaging in conduct of a particular kind if—

The court may grant an interim injunction restraining a person from engaging in conduct of a particular kind if in its opinion it is desirable to do so.

Subsections (1)(a) and (2) apply whether or not it appears to the court that the person intends to engage again, or to continue to engage, in conduct of that kind.

Subsections (1)(b) and (2) apply whether or not—

A court may grant an injunction requiring a person to do an act or a thing if—

The court may grant an interim injunction requiring a person to do an act or a thing if in its opinion it is desirable to do so.

Subsections (1)(a) and (2) apply whether or not it appears to the court that the person intends to refuse or fail again, or to continue to refuse or fail, to do that act or thing.

Subsections (1)(b) and (2) apply whether or not—

If the Commission applies to the court for the grant of an interim injunction under this subpart, the court must not, as a condition of granting an interim injunction, require the Commission to give an undertaking as to damages.

In determining the Commission’s application for the grant of an interim injunction, the court must not take into account that the Commission is not required to give an undertaking as to damages.

Where, in any proceedings under this subpart, the court finds that a party to the proceedings has suffered, or is likely to suffer, loss or damage because of another person’s contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, the court may (whether or not it grants an injunction or makes any other order under this subpart) make any order that it thinks appropriate against another party—

Where a contract is entered into in contravention of this Act, or contains a provision that (under this Act) is of no effect, the court may, in any proceedings under this subpart, make an order—

Nothing in subpart 5 of Part 2 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 applies to any contract entered into in contravention of this Act or to any contract that contains a provision that (under this Act) is of no effect.

Despite any enactment or rule of law, if a contract is entered into in contravention of this Act because the contract contains a particular provision, or the contract contains a provision that (under this Act) is of no effect, the enforceability of any other provision of the contract is not affected.

A person who has suffered, or is likely to suffer, loss or damage because of another person’s contravention of any of the provisions of subpart 2 of Part 2, or because they are party to a contract that contains a provision that (under subpart 2 of Part 2) is of no effect, may apply to the court for an order under this section (whether or not they are also party to any other proceedings under this subpart in relation to the contravention).

In accordance with this subpart, the High Court must hear and determine the following matters:

In accordance with this subpart, the District Court must hear and determine the following matters:

A person must not,—

A person must not attempt to deceive or knowingly mislead the Commission in relation to any matter before it.

A person must not, having been required to appear before the Commission in accordance with section 98(1)(c) of the Commerce Act 1986,—

A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), or (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to,—

In any proceedings relating to section 17, 18, or 19, if the defendant claims that a provision of a fixed wholesale contract is reasonably necessary for a reason referred to in section 17(2)(a), 18(3), or 19(1)(b), it is for the defendant to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the provision is reasonably necessary for that reason.

Proceedings for offences against section 42 of this Act or against section 100 of the Commerce Act 1986 may be commenced no later than 3 years after the matter giving rise to the contravention was discovered or ought reasonably to have been discovered.

Any civil proceedings relating to a contravention of any of the provisions of this Act may be commenced—

The following provisions of the Commerce Act 1986 apply to this Act with any necessary modifications:

This section applies to any dispute between a wholesale supplier and a reseller that arises from the performance or non-performance of a duty or the exercise of a right under subpart 1 or 2 of Part 2.

If a dispute to which this section applies is unable to be resolved by agreement between the parties, the dispute must be referred to mediation.

Mediation under subsection (2) must be carried out in accordance with the procedure prescribed in any regulations made under this subpart.

If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute at mediation within any time frame prescribed by regulations made under this subpart, either party may refer the dispute to arbitration.

If a dispute is referred to arbitration under subsection (2), the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 apply to that dispute.

Nothing in this section and no action taken under this section prevents proceedings from being brought by the Commission against a person for a failure to comply with any of that person’s obligations under this Act.

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations—

The Minister may make a recommendation under this section only if the Minister has consulted any fuel industry participants that the Minister considers are likely to be significantly affected by the regulations.

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Regulations made under this Act may make different provision for different cases on any differential basis.

Without limiting subsection (1), regulations made under this Act—

For the purposes of this Act, the chief executive may approve forms of applications, notices, and other documents required for the purposes of this Act.

This Part does not apply to any matters under Part 4, except as otherwise provided in sections 69(3) and 70.

In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The purpose of this subpart is to promote the resilience of engine fuel supplies by requiring certain fuel industry participants to hold a certain level of engine fuel stocks in New Zealand to mitigate the risk of fuel supply disruptions.

During the initial period, this subpart applies to every fuel industry participant (an obliged person) that, during a compliance period,—

After the initial period, this subpart applies to every fuel industry participant (an obliged person)—

The Minister may recommend regulations for the purpose of subsection (2)(b) only if the Minister is satisfied that—

This subpart applies to the following types of engine fuel (obligation fuel):

The following are disregarded for the purpose of this Part and the regulations:

Each obliged person must hold minimum stock, of each type of obligation fuel in respect of which it is an obliged person, at a level that is sufficient to sustain the minimum level of cover required by this Part and the regulations.

This section sets the stockholding obligation for the initial period.

The types of obligation fuel to which the initial stockholding obligation applies are—

The required number of days of demand or consumption, for the purpose of the minimum level of cover, is—

The formula for translating minimum level of cover to the required minimum stockholding volume for each obliged person and each fuel type is—

Engine fuel counts as minimum stock if—

The regulations may provide for matters relating to the stockholding obligation, including all or any of the following matters:

The regulations may provide—

The Minister may recommend regulations for matters referred to in this section only if—

The Minister may exempt by notice an obliged person, or a class of obliged persons, from all or any of their stockholding obligation.

The Minister may grant the exemption only if—

The regulations may prescribe—

The Minister may grant the exemption unconditionally or subject to any conditions that the Minister may prescribe in the notice.

The Minister’s reasons for granting the exemption (including why the exemption is appropriate) must be published together with the exemption.

An exemption granted under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

This section applies if an obliged person enters into an agreement with another person that records a transfer of the right to count an amount of fuel stocks for the purpose of complying with a stockholding obligation.

Only the transferee of the right is treated as the holder of the stock (for the purpose of counting the amount towards compliance with the stockholding obligation after the transfer).

The regulations may set requirements related to entitlement agreements and their use.

The Minister must review the stockholding obligation within 5 years after the commencement of this subpart.

The review of the stockholding obligation must take into account the following considerations:

Every fuel industry participant to which requirements prescribed by the regulations apply must comply with those requirements.

Without limiting subsection (1), a fuel industry participant must disclose information to the chief executive in any circumstances prescribed by the regulations.

The fuel industry participant must disclose the information in any form and manner specified by the chief executive.

The regulations may prescribe requirements relating to record keeping, and the retention and disclosure of information, about the resilience of engine fuel supplies in New Zealand, including—

In particular, the regulations may prescribe—

The Minister may recommend regulations only if the Minister has had regard to the need for—

The chief executive may,—

The High Court may, on the application of the chief executive, order a person to pay to the Crown a civil pecuniary penalty if satisfied that the person—

The amount of any pecuniary penalty must not exceed,—

In determining an appropriate penalty under this subpart, the court must have regard to all matters referred to in section 30(6).

Sections 30(7) and (8), 31, 34, and 40(c) apply with any necessary modifications.

The chief executive may accept a written undertaking given by, or on behalf of, a person in connection with any matter relating to the enforcement of this Part.

The person may withdraw or vary the undertaking with the consent of the chief executive.

An undertaking under section 66 may, without limitation, include either or both of the following:

If the chief executive accepts an undertaking that involves payment of the chief executive’s costs, the chief executive must make the following information publicly available:

In this section, a contravention means any of the following:

If the chief executive considers that a person has breached an undertaking given under section 66, the chief executive may apply to the High Court for an order under subsection (2).

The court may make any 1 or more of the following orders if it is satisfied that the person has breached a term of the undertaking:

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations—

The Minister may recommend regulations under this Part only if—

Section 48 applies to any regulations made under this Part.

Regulations made under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Section 49 applies with any necessary modifications.