Sector inquiries are those investigations carried out by the Office for Competition into particular sectors of the economy and into types of agreements across various sectors, where it believes the trend of trade, the rigidity of prices or other circumstances suggest that competition may be restricted or distorted. The Office uses the information obtained in an inquiry so as to understand a particular market better and assess the market from a competition law perspective.
A sector inquiry is a comprehensive economic and regulatory investigation, that analyses in depth the dynamic of competition in a market, identifying existing competition issues and where appropriate, making recommendations to address the competition concerns.
