The Competition Act promotes healthy competitive markets by prohibiting certain business practices that restrict competition in the market. The Act came into force on 1 January 2006.
Who Must Abide By This Law?
What Purpose Does The Act Serve?
What Practices Are Not Allowed Under The Act?
Who Enforces The Act?
How Do I Seek Assistance Under The Act?
What Happens To Those Who Breach The Law?
Where Can I Get More Information?
Who Must Abide By This Law?
- Any businesses and persons carrying on business must abide by this law.
- This includes all businesses registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) such as sole-proprietors, partnerships and companies.
- It also includes those who do not need to register with ACRA. E.g. hawkers, taxi drivers, lawyers, accountants, etc.
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What Purpose Does The Act Serve?
- The Act promotes healthy competitive markets by prohibiting certain business practices that restrict competition in the market.
- The interests of both businesses and consumers are best served by competitive markets that deliver the best possible products at the lowest prices. When businesses restrict competition, it can result in:
- artificially high prices
- fewer choices for buyers
- lower quality products/services
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What Practices Are Not Allowed Under The Act?
- Practices that restrict competition are not allowed under the Act. Examples include:
- Price-fixing – competitors agree to charge similar prices
- Bid-rigging – competing tenderers get together to decide on the tender price or who will win the tender.
- Market-sharing – competitors agree not to compete with each other for certain territories or customers.
- Abusing market power – a business uses its dominant market position to prevent new entry, eliminate or significantly damage its competitors’ ability to compete. For example, a dominant business might set its the prices of its products or services below cost to drive out competitors.
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Who Enforces The Act?
- The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) enforces the Act.
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How Do I Seek Assistance Under The Act?
- You can report anti-competitive practices by filing a complaint with the CCS. Step-by-step instructions can be found in our How-To Guide on filing a complaint under the Competition Act.
- The CCS will investigate complaints it receives and assess whether they are valid.
- The CCS prioritises the complaints received. To make best use of resources, CCS focuses on more serious anti-competitive practices.