Research and analysis

Competition Act 1998 (Vertical Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022: RPC Opinion

Regulatory Policy Committee opinion on BEIS’s impact assessment of the Competition Act 1998 (Vertical Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022 [UK Order].

• From: Regulatory Policy Committee
• Published: 10 May 2022

Documents

RPC Opinion: Competition Act 1998 (Vertical Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022 [UK Order]

PDF, 139 KB, 6 pages

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Details

This green-rated RPC opinion relates to a final stage impact assessment supporting a block exemption order under section 6 of the Competition Act 1998. The order gives effect to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendation that the business secretary should make an order that specifies certain categories of vertical agreements to exempt them from the prohibition in Chapter I of the Act, which prohibits agreements between firms that prevent, restrict or distort competition.

The purpose of the order is to ensure that businesses are not prevented, or disincentivised, from entering into agreements that the CMA considers to be overall beneficial and not anti-competitive. The order replaces a similar block exemption - the retained Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation (EUR 2010/330)1 (“the retained VABER”), which was made under EU law and retained in UK law after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The retained VABER expires on 31 May 2022.

Published 10 May 2022