Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

104 Extension etc of periods

(1) The CMA may publish a notice extending a relevant investigation period or a final offer period by a period of up to 3 months where it considers that there are special reasons for doing so.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) must specify how long the extension is for.

(3) The CMA may also publish a notice extending a relevant investigation period or a final offer period where it considers that—

(a) in relation to a relevant investigation period—

(i) a person has failed to comply with any requirement of a notice under section 69 (power to require information) or under section 72 (power to interview) which was given in relation to an SMS investigation, a conduct investigation or a PCI investigation, and

(ii) the failure is preventing the CMA from properly discharging the digital markets functions to which the investigation relates, or

(b) in relation to a final offer period—

(i) a person has failed to comply with any requirement of a notice under section 69, and

(ii) the failure is preventing the CMA from properly discharging any of its functions under sections 38 to 45 (final offer mechanism).

(4) An extension under subsection (3) is for the period—

(a) beginning with the day on which it comes into force, and

(b) ending with the day on which the CMA publishes a notice of its decision to end the extension.

(5) The CMA must publish a notice under subsection (4)(b) where the person who had failed to comply as mentioned in subsection (3) gives the information in question to the CMA or, as the case may be, answers questions and provides explanations to the satisfaction of the CMA.

(6) An extension under subsection (1) or (3) begins with the day on which the notice under subsection (1) or (3), as the case may be, is published.

(7) Where—

(a) the CMA extends an SMS investigation period relating to a further SMS investigation under subsection (1) or (3),

(b) the extension means that the SMS investigation period would (apart from this subsection) continue after the end of the designation period for the existing designation which is the subject of the further SMS investigation, and

(c) in the case of an extension under subsection (3), the person who had failed to comply is, or is connected to, the designated undertaking,

the designation period for the existing designation is extended until the end of the SMS investigation period.

(8) In this section and in section 105 references to a “relevant investigation period” are to—

(a) an SMS investigation period;

(b) a conduct investigation period;

(c) a PCI investigation period.