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Commerce Act 1986

Restrictive trade practices - Contracts, arrangements, understandings, or covenants substantially lessening competition

28C: Process for designations for purpose of section 28A

You could also call this:

"How someone becomes a special grocery retailer under the law"

Illustration for Commerce Act 1986

The Governor-General can make an order to designate a person as a special grocery retailer for the purpose of section 28A. You need to know that this happens when the Minister recommends it, and the Minister only does this after getting a recommendation from the Commission. The Commission recommends someone as a special grocery retailer after talking to them about it and considering certain criteria.

The Commission thinks about whether the person sells most types of grocery products to consumers and whether designating them would make competition fairer. They must tell the Minister if they think these criteria are met. The Minister can then decide to accept or reject the Commission's recommendation, or ask them to think about it again.

When the Commission makes a recommendation, they must make it public and explain why they made that decision. If an order is made, it is a type of law called secondary legislation, and you can learn more about how it is published by looking at Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS713168.

Topics:
Business > Industry rulesMoney and consumer rights > Consumer protectionGovernment and voting > Government departments
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28D: Commission may require designated grocery retailer to supply information about contract, etc, to which section 28A may apply, or

"The Commission can ask big grocery stores for contract information to check they're following the rules."

Part 2Restrictive trade practices
Contracts, arrangements, understandings, or covenants substantially lessening competition

28CProcess for designations for purpose of section 28A

  1. The Governor-General may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make an Order in Council designating a person as a designated grocery retailer for the purpose of section 28A.

  2. The Minister may recommend to the Governor-General that a person be designated as a designated grocery retailer only after receiving a recommendation from the Commission.

  3. The Commission may recommend to the Minister that a person be designated as a designated grocery retailer only—

  4. after consulting the person about the proposed designation (including the Commission’s reasons for proposing to recommend the designation); and
    1. if the Commission has taken into account the following criteria:
      1. whether the person carries on, or is likely to carry on, a business of supplying all or a majority of categories of grocery products to consumers; and
        1. whether designation of the person as a designated grocery retailer would be likely to promote competitive neutrality (that is, a level playing field) or to otherwise promote competition, having regard to the extent to which the person supplies, or is likely to supply, groceries in competition with 1 or more designated grocery retailers.

        2. The Commission’s recommendation must advise the Minister whether the Commission considers that those criteria are met.

        3. In deciding whether to make a recommendation, the Minister may do any of the following:

        4. accept the Commission’s recommendation if the Minister is satisfied that those criteria are met:
          1. reject the Commission’s recommendation:
            1. request that the Commission reconsider any matter (such as an error, an oversight, or competing policy interests):
              1. make any other decision that the Minister considers is in the public interest.

                1. The Commission must make the recommendation publicly available as soon as practicable after making it, including a statement of its reasons for making the recommendation.

                2. An order made under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

                Notes
                • Section 28C: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 35).