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Commerce Act 1986

Enforcement, remedies, and appeals - Regulated goods or services

86: Pecuniary penalty for contravening information disclosure requirement

You could also call this:

"Paying a fine for not sharing information correctly or honestly"

Illustration for Commerce Act 1986

If you break a rule about sharing information, a court can order you to pay a fine to the government. This can happen if you do not share information you are supposed to, or if you share false information. The court can also order you to pay a fine if you try to break the rule, or if you help someone else break it.

The amount of the fine depends on what you did and why you did it. The court looks at how bad the mistake was and whether you did it on purpose. You can be fined up to $500,000 if you are an individual, or up to $5,000,000 if you are a company.

You cannot be fined more than once for the same mistake. The court can start a case against you up to three years after the mistake happened. The court must consider things like whether you have broken the rules before when deciding how much to fine you.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM89483.

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Part 6Enforcement, remedies, and appeals
Regulated goods or services

86Pecuniary penalty for contravening information disclosure requirement

  1. The court may, on application by the Commission, order any person to pay a pecuniary penalty to the Crown if the court is satisfied that the person—

  2. has contravened any information disclosure requirement (as defined in section 52C); or
    1. has attempted to contravene any such requirement; or
      1. has aided, abetted, counselled, or procured any other person to contravene any such requirement; or
        1. has induced, or attempted to induce, any other person, whether by threats or promises or otherwise, to contravene any such requirement; or
          1. has been in any way, directly or indirectly, knowingly concerned in, or party to, the contravention by any other person of any such requirement; or
            1. has conspired with any other person to contravene any such requirement.

              1. In subsection (1) and section 86B, a reference to contravening an information disclosure requirement includes all or any of the following:

              2. failing to disclose information required to be disclosed:
                1. failing to disclose information in the form or within the time required:
                  1. disclosing information under an information disclosure requirement that is false or misleading.

                    1. The amount of pecuniary penalty must not, in respect of each act or omission, exceed $500,000 in the case of an individual, or $5,000,000 in any other case.

                    2. In determining the amount of pecuniary penalty, the court must have regard to all relevant matters, including—

                    3. the nature and extent of the contravention; and
                      1. the circumstances in which the contravention took place (including whether the contravention was intentional, inadvertent, or caused by negligence); and
                        1. whether the person has previously been found by the court in proceedings under this Part to have engaged in similar conduct.

                          1. A supplier may not be liable to more than 1 pecuniary penalty in respect of the same conduct.

                          2. Proceedings under this section may be commenced at any time within 3 years after the contravention occurred.

                          Notes
                          • Section 86: substituted, on , by section 15 of the Commerce Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 70).
                          • Section 86(3): amended, on , by section 32(2)(b) of the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 40).