SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin and Corinne Chew, Drew & Napier LLC
Further appeal Further appeals against the Board’s decisions to the General Division of the High Court may be made on a point of law arising from a decision of the Board or in respect of any decision made by it as to the amount of the financial penalty. Appeals are brought by way of originating appli - cation, and the procedure governing the appeal is set out in Order 20 of the Rules of Court 2021. Parties may also appeal decisions of the Gen - eral Division of the High Court to the Court of Appeal under Section 74 (4) of the Competition Act. There is no further appeal right from the Court of Appeal. Actual appeals filed As of 12 April 2025, 21 appeals have been filed to the Board; two were withdrawn, two are in progress, and the remainder have been com - pleted. To date, no further appeals have been made against the Board’s decisions. 5.9 Timeline of Cartel Enforcement Process The length of cartel enforcement investigation and proceeding varies on a case-to-case basis. After the Commission conducts its preliminary investigations, a proposed infringement deci - sion may be issued. After such a proposed infringement decision is issued, parties have the opportunity to make their individual repre - sentations to the Commission regarding the pro - posed infringement decision. The Commission will consider any representations received, and evidence obtained in the course of the investiga - tion before making its final decision. There are no fixed timelines for the various stages of the investigations. In a recent case involving bid-rigging tenders for interior fit-out construction services, the Commission’s investigations commenced in
November 2020. The proposed infringement decision was issued on 25 October 2024, and the infringement decision was issued on 20 December 2024. In another recent case involving bid-rigging con - duct in tenders for the procurement of licenc - es for vulnerability management software and related support services called by Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the Commission commenced its investigations on 25 August 2023. The proposed infringement decision was issued on 2 August 2024, and the infringement decision was issued on 5 September 2024. Third parties, including firms and individuals, may have a private right of action under Sec - tion 86 of the Competition Act. As stated in 1.2 Regulatory/Enforcement Agencies and Penal- ties , such a right of private action is premised on an infringement finding by the Commission, and may only be brought within two years following the expiry of any applicable periods. There is no record of any such proceedings being brought in Singapore concerning competition-related matters. 6.2 Collective Action On 1 April 2022, the new Rules of Court 2021 came into operation. Under Order 4, rule 6 (1), where numerous persons have a common inter - est in any proceedings, such persons may sue or be sued as a group with one or more of them representing the group. Under Order 4, rule 6 (4), where there is a class of persons and all or any member of the class cannot be ascertained or cannot be found, the court may appoint one or more persons to represent the entire class or 6. Civil Litigation 6.1 Private Rights of Action
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