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Competition Bureau of Canada

Competition Bureau

Competition Bureau Seeks Comments on Fee Increase Proposal and Proposed Threshold Increase for Merger Notification

OTTAWA, August 19, 2002 - The Competition Bureau is seeking comments from stakeholders on proposed changes to its Fee and Service Standards Policy. The proposed changes, which include increasing fees, revising service standards, and improving feedback mechanisms, would position the Bureau to deliver client services with enhanced efficiency and timeliness.

As a result of rising costs stemming from globalization, changes to the Competition Act and greater transaction complexity, the Bureau has identified a need to revise the existing Fee and Service Standards Policy, introduced in 1997. The policy applies to pre-merger notification filings and advance ruling certificates related to merger review, advisory opinion requests, and photocopies.

The proposed amendments include:

  • increasing the current fee for pre-merger notification and advance ruling certificates from $25,000 to $50,000
  • increasing fees for written opinions to reflect C-23 provisions that make these instruments legally binding on the Commissioner

The Bureau is also interested in hearing from stakeholders regarding a proposed regulation which would raise the current size-of-transaction threshold for pre-merger notification from $35 million to $50 million. The Bureau believes that this increase will alleviate the notification burden for businesses involved in small scale transactions.

Beginning today, the Bureau is inviting stakeholder comments and input on the fee increase proposal, current service standards, complexity levels and definitions, feedback mechanisms and the proposed threshold increase. The discussion paper and regulations published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on August 17, 2002 form the basis of the consultation and are also available on the Bureau's Web site at www.cb-bc.gc.ca. Stakeholders will have until October 18, 2002 to submit comments. Public forums are scheduled for November 2002 to allow for further discussion.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency which ensures that all Canadians enjoy the benefits of a competitive economy. It oversees the application of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act.

Discussion Paper (PDF: 97.4 KB)
Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement
Proposed Regulations (PDF: 99 KB)

For more information, please contact:
Lise Davey
Manager, Client Services
Compliance and Operations Branch, Competition Bureau
(819) 953-9069


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