Enforcement of directions of Commission and commitments in District Court
Open ↗85.—(1) For the purposes of enforcement of any direction made by the Commission under section 58A, 67 or 69, or any commitment accepted by the Commission under section 60A and which it has not released, the Commission may apply for the direction or commitment to be registered in a District Court in accordance with the Rules of Court and the District Court is to register the direction or commitment in accordance with the Rules of Court.[23/2007]
(2) From the date of registration of any direction or commitment under subsection (1), the direction or commitment has the same force and effect, and all proceedings may be taken on the direction or commitment, for the purposes of enforcement as if it had been an order originally obtained in the District Court which has power to enforce it accordingly.[23/2007]
(3) A District Court has jurisdiction to enforce any direction or commitment in accordance with subsection (2) regardless of the monetary amount involved and may, for the purpose of enforcing such direction or commitment, make any order —(a)
to secure compliance with the direction or commitment; or
(b)
to require any person to do anything to remedy, mitigate or eliminate any effects arising from —(i)
anything done which ought not, under the direction or commitment, to have been done; or
(ii)
anything not done which ought, under the direction or commitment, to have been done,
which would not have occurred had the direction or commitment been complied with.
[23/2007]
(4) Nothing in this section confers upon the District Court any power to order the winding up of a company.[23/2007]
Rights of private action
Open ↗86.—(1) Any person who suffers loss or damage directly as a result of an infringement of the section 34 prohibition, the section 47 prohibition or the section 54 prohibition has a right of action for relief in civil proceedings in a court under this section against any undertaking which is or which has at the material time been a party to such infringement.
(2) No action to which subsection (1) applies may be brought —(a)
until after a decision referred to in subsection (3) has established that the section 34 prohibition, the section 47 prohibition or the section 54 prohibition has been infringed; and
(b)
during the period referred to in subsection (4).
(3) The decisions which may be relied upon for the purposes of an action under this section are —(a)
the Commission’s decision under section 68;
(b)
the Board’s decision under section 73 (on an appeal from the Commission’s decision under section 71);
(c)
the decision of the General Division of the High Court under section 74 (on an appeal from the Board’s decision under that section); and
(d)
the decision of the appellate court under section 74 (on an appeal from the decision of the General Division of the High Court under that section).[40/2019]
(4) The periods during which an action may not be brought under this section are —(a)
in the case of a decision of the Commission, the period during which an appeal may be made to the Board under section 71(1);
(b)
in the case of a decision of the Commission which is the subject of an appeal to the Board as referred to in paragraph (a), the period following the decision of the Board during which a further appeal may be made under section 74 to the General Division of the High Court; and
(c)
in the case of a decision of the General Division of the High Court which is the subject of a further appeal, the period during which such an appeal may be made under section 74.[40/2019]
(5) Where any appeal referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (4) is made, the period specified in that paragraph includes the period before the appeal is determined.
(6) No action to which subsection (1) applies may be brought after the end of 2 years after the relevant period specified in subsection (4).
(7) In determining a claim under this section, the court shall accept as final and conclusive any decision referred to in subsection (3) which establishes that the prohibition in question has been infringed.
(8) The court may grant to the claimant in an action under subsection (1) all or any of the following reliefs:(a)
relief by way of injunction or declaration;
(b)
damages;
(c)
such other relief as the court thinks fit.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(9) Nothing in this section confers on any party to an agreement which infringes the section 34 prohibition a right of action for relief.
Cooperation between Commission and other regulatory authorities on competition matters
Open ↗87.—(1) The Commission may enter into any agreement with any regulatory authority for the purposes of —(a)
facilitating cooperation between the Commission and the regulatory authority in the performance of their respective functions insofar as they relate to issues of competition between undertakings;
(b)
avoiding duplication of activities by the Commission and the regulatory authority, being activities involving the determination of the effects on competition of any act done, or proposed to be done; and
(c)
ensuring, as far as practicable, consistency between decisions made or other steps taken by the Commission and the regulatory authority insofar as any part of those decisions or steps consists of or relates to a determination of any issue of competition between undertakings.
(2) An agreement that is entered into under subsection (1) is referred to in this section as a cooperation agreement.
(3) A cooperation agreement may include —(a)
a provision enabling each party to furnish to another party information in its possession if the information is required by that other party for the purpose of the performance by it of any of its functions;
(b)
a provision enabling each party to forbear to perform any of its functions in relation to a matter in circumstances where it is satisfied that another party is performing functions in relation to that matter; and
(c)
a provision requiring each party to consult with any other party before performing any function in circumstances where the respective exercise by each party of the function concerned involves the determination of issues of competition between undertakings that are identical to one another or fall within the same category of such an issue, being a category specified in the agreement.
(4) In this section —“issue of competition between undertakings” includes an issue of competition between undertakings that arises generally in the sector of activity in relation to which the Commission or the regulatory authority may exercise powers and such an issue that falls, or could fall, to be the subject of the exercise by the Commission or the regulatory authority of powers in particular circumstances;
“party” means a party to a cooperation agreement and a reference to another party (whether that expression or the expression “other party” is used) is, where there are 2 or more other parties to the agreement, a reference to one or more of those other parties or each of them, as appropriate.
Cooperation between Commission and foreign competition bodies
Open ↗88.—(1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Minister, enter into arrangements with any foreign competition body whereby each party to the arrangements may —(a)
furnish to the other party information in its possession if the information is required by that other party for the purpose of performance by it of any of its functions; and
(b)
provide such other assistance to the other party as will facilitate the performance by that other party of any of its functions.
(2) The Commission must not furnish any information to a foreign competition body pursuant to such arrangements unless it requires of, and obtains from, that body an undertaking in writing by it that it will comply with terms specified in that requirement, including terms that correspond to the provisions of any other written law concerning the disclosure of that information by the Commission.
(3) The Commission may give an undertaking to a foreign competition body that it will comply with terms specified in a requirement made of the Commission by the body to give such an undertaking where —(a)
those terms correspond to the provisions of any law in force in the country or territory in which the body is established, being provisions which concern the disclosure by the body of the information referred to in paragraph (b); and
(b)
compliance with the requirement is a condition imposed by the body for furnishing information in its possession to the Commission pursuant to the arrangements referred to in subsection (1).
(4) In this section, “foreign competition body” means a person in whom there are vested functions under the law of another country or territory with respect to the enforcement or the administration of provisions of law of that country or territory concerning competition between undertakings (whether in a particular sector of the economy of that country or territory or throughout that economy generally).
Preservation of secrecy
Open ↗89.—(1) Subject to subsection (5), every specified person must preserve, and aid in the preserving of, secrecy with regard to —(a)
all matters relating to the business, commercial or official affairs of any person;
(b)
all matters that have been identified as confidential under subsection (3); and
(c)
all matters relating to the identity of persons furnishing information to the Commission,
that may come to his or her knowledge in the performance of his or her functions and discharge of his or her duties under this Act and must not communicate any such matter to any person, except in so far as such communication —
(d)
is necessary for the performance of any such function or discharge of any such duty; or
(e)
is lawfully required by any court or the Board, or lawfully required or allowed under this Act or any other written law.[5/2018]
(2) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) Any person, when furnishing any information to the Commission, may identify information that he or she claims to be confidential information.
(4) Every claim made under subsection (3) must be supported by a written statement giving reasons why the information is confidential.
(5) Despite subsection (1), the Commission may disclose any information relating to any matter referred to in subsection (1) in any of the following circumstances:(a)
where the consent of the person to whom the information relates has been obtained;
(b)
for the purposes of —(i)
a prosecution under this Act;
(ii)
subject to subsection (6), enabling the Commission to give effect to any provision of this Act;
(iii)
enabling the Commission, an investigating officer or an inspector to investigate a suspected offence under this Act or to enforce a provision thereof; or
(iv)
complying with such provision of an agreement between Singapore and a country or territory outside Singapore (called in this section a foreign country) as may be prescribed, where the conditions specified in subsection (7) are satisfied.
(6) If the Commission is considering whether to disclose any information under subsection (5)(b)(ii), the Commission must have regard to —(a)
the need for excluding, so far as is practicable, information the disclosure of which would in its opinion be contrary to the public interest;
(b)
the need for excluding, so far as is practicable —(i)
commercial information the disclosure of which would, or might, in its opinion, significantly harm the legitimate business interests of the undertaking to which it relates; or
(ii)
information relating to the private affairs of an individual the disclosure of which would, or might, in its opinion, significantly harm the individual’s interest; and
(c)
the extent to which the disclosure is necessary for the purposes for which the Commission is proposing to make the disclosure.
(7) The conditions referred to in subsection (5)(b)(iv) are —(a)
the information or documents requested by the foreign country are available to the Commission;
(b)
unless the Government otherwise allows, the foreign country undertakes to keep the information given confidential at all times; and
(c)
the disclosure of the information is not likely to be contrary to the public interest.
(8) In this section, “specified person” means a person who is or has been —(a)
a member, an officer, an employee or an agent of the Commission;
(b)
a member of a committee of the Commission or any person authorised, appointed or employed to assist the Commission;
(c)
an inspector or a person authorised, appointed or employed to assist an inspector; or
(d)
a member of the Board or any person authorised, appointed or employed to assist the Board.
Protection from personal liability
Open ↗90. No liability shall lie personally against any of the following persons for anything done or purported to be done, or omitted to be done, in good faith and with reasonable care in the performance or purported performance of any function of the Commission or the exercise or purported exercise of any power of the Commission under this Act or any other written law:(a)
the Chief Executive;
(b)
any member, officer, employee, agent or committee member of the Commission;[Act 13 of 2025 wef 01/07/2025]
(c)
any member of the Board or any person authorised, appointed or employed to assist the Board;
(d)
any person who is on secondment or attachment to the Commission;
(e)
any person authorised, appointed, employed or directed by the Commission to exercise the Commission’s powers, perform the Commission’s functions or discharge the Commission’s duties or to assist the Commission in the exercise of the Commission’s powers, the performance of the Commission’s functions or the discharge of the Commission’s duties;
(f)
any inspector or any person authorised, appointed or employed to assist the inspector in connection with any function or duty of the inspector.[15/2018]
Public servants
Open ↗91. All inspectors and all members of the Board shall be deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871.[5/2018]
Proceedings conducted by officers of Commission
Open ↗91A.—(1) Proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act may, with the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor, be conducted by an officer of the Commission who is authorised in writing in that behalf by the Chief Executive.[15/2010]
(2) Despite the provisions of any written law, a legal officer of the Commission who has been admitted as an advocate and solicitor under the Legal Profession Act 1966 may —(a)
appear in any civil proceedings involving the Commission in the performance of its functions or duties under any written law; and
(b)
make and do all acts and applications in respect of the civil proceedings on behalf of the Commission.
Amendment of Third and Fourth Schedules
Open ↗92. The Minister may at any time, by order in the Gazette, amend the Third and Fourth Schedules.
Regulations
Open ↗93.—(1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations for any purpose for which regulations are required to be made under this Act and generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Commission may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations for or with respect to all or any of the following matters:(a)
the manner of appointment, conduct and discipline and the terms and conditions of service of the employees of the Commission;
(b)
the establishment of funds for the payment of gratuities and other benefits to employees of the Commission;
(c)
the form and manner in which a notification under section 38(1) is to be made;
(d)
the form and manner in which complaints that the section 34 prohibition has been infringed by any agreement, the section 47 prohibition has been infringed by any conduct, the section 54 prohibition will be infringed by any anticipated merger, if carried into effect, or the section 54 prohibition has been infringed by any merger, are to be submitted to the Commission;
(e)
the acceptance of commitments, and the variation, substitution or release of commitments, including the parties that may apply for the variation, substitution or release of commitments and the form and manner in which applications for the variation, substitution or release of any commitment are to be submitted to the Commission;
(f)
the form and manner in which notices of decisions and directions of the Commission are to be given, and the persons to whom such notices are to be given;
(g)
the fees to be charged in respect of anything done or any services rendered by the Commission under or by virtue of this Act, including the calculation of the amount of fees by reference to matters including —(i)
the turnover of all or any party to an agreement (determined in such manner as may be prescribed);
(ii)
the turnover of any person whose conduct the Commission is to consider (determined in such manner as may be prescribed);
(iii)
the turnover of all or any party to an anticipated merger (determined in such manner as may be prescribed); and
(iv)
the turnover of all or any party involved in a merger (determined in such manner as may be prescribed);
(h)
anything which may be prescribed or is required to be prescribed under this Act.[23/2007]
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
