OECD kpcdb

1. Scope

 

As per Section 11 (1), agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings or concerted practices which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within Brunei Darussalam are prohibited unless they are exempt in accordance with this Order.

 

As per Section 11 (2), agreements, decisions or concerted practices may, in particular, have the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition within Brunei Darussalam if they-

 

a)  directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions;
b)  limit or control production, markets, technical development or investment;
c)  share markets or sources of supply;
d)  apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage;
e)  make the conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by the other parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of such contracts; or
f )  perform an act of bid rigging.

 

Excluded agreements: As per Section 12, the section 11 prohibition shall not apply to such matter as may be specified in the Third Schedule of the Order: services of general economic interest; an agreement made to comply with a legal requirement; in order to avoid a conflict between Part 3 of the Order and an international obligation of Brunei Darussalam; public policy; any agreement which relates to any goods or services under another regulatory authority’s jurisdiction; any agreement which relates to the supply of waste management services, the supply of scheduled bus services under the Road Traffic Act and the license to supply goods and services specified in the Schedule to the Monopolies Act; any agreement which relates to the clearing and exchanging of articles undertaken by the Clearing House; any vertical agreement; any agreement with net economic benefit; any agreement that is directly related and necessary to the implementation of a merger.

 

Individual exemption: As per Section 13 (1) an undertaking may apply to the Minister, through the Commission, for an exemption with respect to a particular agreement from the section 11 prohibition. This section shall apply to any agreement which contributes to improving production or distribution or promoting technical or economic progress, but which does not-

 

 

• impose on the undertakings concerned restrictions which are not indispensable to the attainment of those objectives; or
• afford the undertakings concerned the possibility of eliminating competition in respect of a substantial part of the goods or services in question.

 

Block exemption: As per Section 15, if agreements which fall within a particular category of agreements are, in the opinion of the Commission, likely to be agreements that satisfy the criteria for block exemption, the Commission may recommend that the Minister make an order specifying that category for the purposes of this section.

 

2. Assessment

No Guidelines have yet been issued by the Commission on how it will interpret and apply the legal provisions.

3. Remedies and sanctions

See Section I.4.

4. Leniency

As per Section 44 (1), there shall be a leniency regime, with a reduction of up to a maximum of 100 per cent of any penalties which would otherwise have been imposed, which may be available in the cases of any undertakings which has-

 

a)  admitted its involvement in an infringement of any section 11 prohibition; and

b)  provided information or other form of co-operation to the Commission which significantly assisted, or is likely to significantly assist, in the identification or investigation of any finding of an infringement of any prohibition by any other undertakings.

 

As per Section 44 (2), a leniency regime may permit different percentages of reductions to be available to an undertaking depending on-

 

a)  whether the undertaking was the first person to bring the suspected infringement to the attention of the Commission;

b)  the stage in the investigation at which an involvement in the infringement was admitted or any information/other co-operation was provided; or

c)  any other circumstances which the Commission considers appropriate to have regard to.

 

 

* This information is based on Competition Law in Asia-Pacific: A Guide to Selected Jurisdictions (2018).