SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin and Corinne Chew, Drew & Napier LLC
12 April 2025, the investigation is still ongo - ing. • On 20 December 2024, the Commission penalised two companies for bid-rigging ten - ders for interior fit-out construction services. 1.9 Guides Published by Governmental Authorities The Commission has issued 12 sets of guide - lines, including the CCCS Guidelines on the Section 34 Prohibition, the CCCS Guidelines on the Powers of Investigation in Competition Cases 2016, the CCCS Guidelines on Lenient Treatment for Undertakings Coming Forward with Information in Cartel Activity Cases 2016 and the CCCS Guidelines on the Appropriate Amount of Penalty in Competition Cases 2016, among others. The full set of guidelines can be found on the Commission’s website . In practice, parties generally become aware of the Commission’s investigations against them for a potential infringement of the Section 34 Prohibition in one of two ways. Firstly, the Commission may serve a formal notice pursuant to Section 63 of the Competi - tion Act, requiring the production of information or documents specified in the notice. The notice will set out the subject matter and purpose of the investigation and outline the nature of the offences that may be committed if a person fails to comply with the notice. It is not uncommon for multiple formal notices to be issued by the Commission to either the infringing parties or any other parties that might have information that is relevant to the investigation. 2. Early Stages of Cartel Enforcement 2.1 Initial Investigation
The written notice may also designate a time and place at which a document or information must be produced and the manner and form in which it is to be produced. If information is provided, it may be recorded or reduced to writing by the Commission’s officers. The person providing the information will be given an opportunity to amend, add to or delete aspects of the written record before signing it. If a document is pro - duced, the Commission may require an expla - nation of the document to be provided as well. The Commission will generally not ask for more documents or information than it believes nec - essary for the investigation as at the date of the written notice. Secondly, the Commission may conduct unan - nounced searches (also known as dawn raids) of business premises. See 2.2 Dawn Raids/Search Warrants for further details. 2.2 Dawn Raids/Search Warrants The Commission may conduct dawn raids under a warrant pursuant to Section 65 of the Competi - tion Act, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there are relevant documents on the premises that would be concealed, removed, tampered with or destroyed if the Commission requested their production through a formal notice. It should be noted that the Commission may also enter premises without a warrant under Section 64 of the Competition Act, although it is a requirement to provide written notice at least two working days in advance of intended entry, and the Commission’s officers will not have the ability to actively search the premises. However, there is no need to provide notice if the premises are reasonably suspected to be, or have been, occupied by the undertaking that is being inves - tigated in relation to an agreement infringing the Section 34 Prohibition.
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