New filing fee for Competition Bureau merger reviews coming into effect

From: Competition Bureau Canada

News release

April 24, 2018 – OTTAWA, ON – Competition Bureau

The Competition Bureau announced today that the filing fee for merger reviews will increase from $50,000 to $72,000. The new filing fee will come into effect on May 1, 2018.

Prior to today’s increase, the merger filing fee had remained unchanged since 2003. The new fee will ensure that the Bureau has adequate resources to fulfill its merger review mandate and continues to meet its service standards.

The Competition Act requires that companies notify the Bureau if proposed mergers, acquisitions and other transactions meet certain thresholds. The Bureau reviews these notifiable transactions to determine if they are likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition. Companies filing a pre-merger notification (PMN), or requesting an Advance Ruling Certificate (ARC), pay a filing fee. The new filing fee will apply to both.

Quick facts

  • Updating the merger filing fee aligns with the Government of Canada’s initiative on modernizing service fees, in accordance with the 2017 Service Fees Act.

  • On October 20, 2017, the Bureau published its proposal to increase the filing fee for public comment. The proposal outlined the rationale, costing and impact analysis for the new fee. Following the consultation, the Bureau reviewed the feedback received and submitted a finalized proposal to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

  • The new filing fee for merger reviews will be published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 on April 28, 2018.

  • The filing fee for merger reviews is subject to inflation and will be reviewed annually. The annual inflation-adjusted fee will be announced annually by the Bureau.

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