Price Commission Act 1977

4 Proposals to investigate price increases

(1) If the Commission consider that an increase of which notice has been given to the Commission in pursuance of an order under section 5 of the 1973 Act should be the subject of an investigation in pursuance of section 6 of this Act, the Commission may, at any time within the period which in relation to the notice is specified in the order in accordance with section 5(3) of that Act, notify the Secretary of State in writing that in the opinion of the Commission the increase should be the subject of such an investigation.

(2) Where the Commission give a notification to the Secretary of State in pursuance of the preceding subsection in respect of an increase, then—

(a) it shall be the duty of the Commission to give a copy of the notification immediately to the person who gave the notice of the increase to the Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to, in relation to the increase, as " the relevant person "); and

(b) the order aforesaid shall, subject to the following provisions of this section and section 7(1) of this Act, have effect as if—

(i) the said section 5(3) authorised, and the order specified, four months' notice in respect of the increase, and

(ii) the order provided that, until the end of that period, any implementation of the increase constituted a contravention of the order.

(3) If the Secretary of State considers that an increase in respect of which he has received such a notification should not be the subject of an investigation in pursuance of section 6 of this Act he may, whether or not such an investigation of the increase has begun, give notice to the Commission and the relevant person providing that the increase shall not be the subject of such an investigation and that subsection (5) of this section shall not apply in consequence of the notification ; and when the relevant person receives the notice subsection (2)(b) of this section shall cease to apply to the increase.

(4) If, after a notification in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section has been given in respect of an increase, the relevant person gives notice to the Commission stating that he withdraws the notice of the increase in consequence of which the notification was given, the Commission may if they think fit give to the Secretary of State a notice cancelling the notification; and where they do so—

(a) it shall be their duty to give a copy of the last-mentioned notice to the relevant person ; and

(b) the following subsection shall not apply in consequence of the notification.

(5) If at any time after the Commission have given a notification in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section in respect of an increase and before they have made a report in respect of the increase in pursuance of section 6 of this Act it appears to the Commission, on the application of the relevant person or otherwise, either—

(a) that the whole or part of the increase ought not to be restricted by virtue of subsection (2)(b) of this section ; or

(b) that apart from this subsection the profit of the relevant person would, in consequence of the notification, be kept below the profit determined in his case in pursuance of section 9 of this Act,

then, whether or not the Commission have previously given a variation notice in respect of the increase providing as mentioned in paragraph (a) of the following subsection—

(i) the Commission may, in a case falling within paragraph (a) of this subsection, give to the relevant person a variation notice in respect of the increase, and

(ii) it shall be the duty of the Commission, in a case falling within paragraph (b) of this subsection, to prevent the consequence mentioned in that paragraph by giving to the relevant person a variation notice.

(6) In the preceding subsection " a variation notice " means a notice providing—

(a) that on and after a date specified in the notice such part of the increase in question as is so specified shall not be restricted by virtue of subsection (2)(b) of this section; or

(b) that subsection (2)(b) of this section shall cease to apply to the increase on a date so specified,

and such a notice may, if in the opinion of the Commission the increase relates to goods or services of different descriptions or to be supplied in different circumstances, make different provision as respects the different descriptions of goods or services or the different circumstances.