The government plans to give legislators sample guidelines to the rules of conduct under the competition bill in an effort to give them a clearer idea of how the law will operate.
But the guidelines they will be shown will be non-binding because the real ones will be drawn up by a Competition Commission that will not be formed until after the bill has been passed.
Undersecretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung told the committee studying the bill that the samples, to be provided in January, would provide lawmakers with a reference.
This was in contrast to his reluctance to give such information at the first meeting of the committee earlier this month, when he said : 'The commission has to be left with flexibility in making the guidelines.'
So said a definition of the 'de minimis' approach - a protective measure for small and medium-sized enterprises - would not be covered by the samples.
'We remain open to drawing the line to exempt smaller companies from two conduct rules,' he said. These cover price-fixing and market-sharing, and abuse of market power.