An undertaking that applies for and receives guidance or a decision will have greater clarity on whether its agreement/conduct is infringing or is likely to infringe the Act.
If CCCS issues a guidance that infringement is unlikely (i.e. favourable guidance), we will take no further action in respect of the notified agreement or conduct, unless:
- We suspect there has been a material change of circumstance since we gave guidance
- We suspect that the information on which we based our guidance was incomplete, false or misleading
- There has been a complaint about the agreement or conduct
- One of the parties to the agreement applies to us for a decision in respect of the agreement, under section 44 of the Act
If CCCS issues a decision that there is no infringement (i.e. a favourable decision), we will take no further action in respect of the notified agreement or conduct unless:
- We believe that there has been a material change of circumstance since we gave our decision; or
- We suspect that the information on which we based our decision was incomplete, false or misleading
In the event that CCCS issues an unfavourable guidance or decision, the notifying undertaking is immune from financial penalties for infringing the section 34 prohibition during the period when CCCS was considering the matter. The undertaking will then be given a short period to comply with the Act. There is no financial immunity in respect to notifications of conduct that constitute an abuse of a dominant position (section 47).