Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

COMPETITION AND CONSUMER ACT 2010 - SECT 155B

  (1)   Where, by notice under section   98H of the Commerce Act 1986 of New Zealand, the New Zealand Commerce Commission requires a person to furnish any information or produce any document, the information or document may be provided to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for transmission to the New Zealand Commerce Commission.

  (2)   As soon as practicable after the information or document is provided to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is to transmit it to the New Zealand Commerce Commission.

  (3)   A person must not:

  (a)   contravene a notice under section   98H of the Commerce Act 1986 of New Zealand; or

  (b)   in purported compliance with such a notice, knowingly furnish information that is false or misleading in a material particular.

Penalty:   20 penalty units.

Note 1:   Chapter   2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

Note 2:   Part   IA of the Crimes Act 1914 contains provisions dealing with penalties.

  (3A)   Paragraph   (3)(a) does not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection   (3A), see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .

  (4)   A person is not excused from furnishing information or producing a document under a notice under section   98H of the Commerce Act 1986 of New Zealand on the ground that the information, or the production of the document, may tend to incriminate the person, but:

  (a)   any information furnished or document produced under such a notice; and

  (b)   any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or indirect consequence of furnishing the information or producing the document;

is not admissible in evidence against the person in any criminal proceedings, other than proceedings for an offence against subsection   (3).

  (5)   This section binds the Crown in all its capacities, but nothing in this section permits the Crown in any of its capacities to be prosecuted for an offence.

  (6)   This section applies in and outside Australia.