DISCUSSION PAPER ON THE PROPOSAL TO AMMEND THE ICCC (FEES) REGULATION 2003
The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”) wishes to inform the business community, government agencies, interested stakeholders and the general public that it has released a Discussion paper on its proposal to amend the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (Fees) Regulation 2003 (“ICCC Fees Regulation”) (“Proposed Amendment”).
The purpose of the Proposed Amendment is to increase the existing application fees for Clearance and Authorization Applications. Clearance and Authorization are adjudication processes provided under sections 70, 81 and 82 of the ICCC Act, through which, the ICCC receives, assesses, and determines whether to approve or deny potentially anti-competitive agreements and business acquisitions.
The existing and proposed application fees for each of the application types are outlined in tables 1 and 2 respectively below:
Table 1: Current Application Fees
|
Application Type |
Fee(s) |
|
Authorization (section 70) |
K5,000.00 |
|
Clearance (section 81) |
K20,000.00 |
|
Authorization (section 82) |
K35,000.00 |
Table 2: Proposed Application Fees
|
Application Type |
New Fee(s) |
|
|
Authorization (section 70) |
K150, 000.00 |
|
|
Proposed Application Fees for Clearance & Authorization under section 81 & 82 are categorized into different Phases depending on complexities for assessment and transaction value.
|
||
|
Phase |
Transaction Value |
New Fee(s) |
|
Phase 1: Simple transaction that do not need competition impact assessment (Clearance – Section 81). |
Above K50 million |
K50,000.00. (Fixed regardless of transaction value.) |
|
Phase 2: Complex transactions needing adverse competition effects Assessment (Authorization – Section 82). |
Below K100 million |
K100,000.00 |
|
K100 million =< K500 million: |
K150,000.00 |
|
|
Above K500 million: |
K250,000.00 |
|
|
Phase 3: Complex transactions requiring competition impact assessment and public benefits consideration (Authorization – Section 82). |
K100,000.00* |
|
*(This will only be paid if the applicant requests public benefit assessment and consideration).
The ICCC proposes to increase the above fees to reflect the rising costs associated with processing such applications. These applications often require substantial resources, including in-depth economic analysis and expertise, particularly in complex matters. The proposed fee increase is intended to:
- recover application processing costs;
- deter frivolous or speculative applications that waste regulatory resources;
- promote accountability by ensuring only well-considered applications are submitted; and
- ensure fairness by requiring that applicants, who benefit most from approvals, bear the costs rather than taxpayers.
A detailed explanation of the ICCC’s assessment and reasons for the proposed fee increase is provided in the Discussion Paper.
The ICCC now invites the business community, government agencies, interested stakeholders, and the general public to come forward with your comments on this Proposed Amendment.
To obtain a copy of the Discussion Paper, please contact the ICCC Office on the contact details provided below. The Discussion Paper is also available on the ICCC’s website; www.iccc.gov.pg . All comments and submissions in response to the Discussion paper should be submitted by or before 4:00 p.m., Friday, 29th August 2025.
For more information or queries on this matter, please contact Mr. Steven Sugl, or Mr. Barzillai Dominic at the Competition Law Enforcement Division on 312 4600 or email at ssugl@iccc.gov.pg and bdominic@iccc.gov.pg, respectively.