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<subtitle num="04" heading="Antitrust Division" title_num="02" title_heading="Office of the Attorney General">
  <chapter num="01" heading="Maryland Foreign Discriminatory Boycotts Act Regulations">
    <annotations>
      <annotation type="Authority">Commercial Law Article, §§11-101—11-115, Annotated Code of Maryland</annotation>
      <annotation type="History" subtype="Administrative History">Effective date: January 19, 1977 (4:2 Md. R. 81)</annotation>
    </annotations>
  </chapter>
  <chapter num="02" heading="Business Review Procedure">
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".01" heading="General.">
      <text>The Attorney General of Maryland is not authorized to give advisory opinions to private parties. The Attorney General will in certain circumstances and under the conditions set forth in this chapter, respond to inquiries from private parties with respect to proposed business conduct, and may state the Attorney General's enforcement intentions under the Maryland Antitrust Act, Commercial Law Article, §§11-201—11-213, Annotated Code of Maryland.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".02" heading="Request.">
      <text>A request for a business review letter shall be submitted in writing to the Assistant Attorney General and Chief, Antitrust Division, Office of the Attorney General, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21202.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".03" heading="Proposed Business Conduct.">
      <text>The Attorney General shall consider only requests with respect to proposed business conduct. Hypothetical problems may not be considered for review.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".04" heading="Applicability.">
      <text>A business review letter issued under this chapter does not have application to any party which does not join in the request for the business review letter.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".05" heading="Content of Request.">
      <text>A request shall be accompanied by:</text>
      <paragraph num="A.">
        <text>All relevant data, including background information;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="B.">
        <text>Complete copies of all operative documents; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="C.">
        <text>Detailed statements of all collateral understandings, if any.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".06" heading="Obligation of Requesting Party.">
      <text>The requesting party is under an obligation to make a full disclosure with respect to the business conduct for which review is requested. A party requesting the review letter shall provide the Attorney General with whatever additional information or documents the Attorney General may request in order to review the matter. The additional information, if furnished orally, shall be promptly confirmed in writing. In connection with any request for review, the Attorney General may also conduct whatever independent investigation the Attorney General believes is appropriate.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".07" heading="Oral Clearance Not Binding.">
      <text>The Attorney General does not give or authorize an oral clearance, release, or other statement purporting to bind the enforcement discretion of the Attorney General. The requesting party may rely only upon a written business review letter signed by the Attorney General, or Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Antitrust Division.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".08" heading="Response by Attorney General.">
      <text>After review of a request, the Attorney General may:</text>
      <paragraph num="A.">
        <text>State the Attorney General's present enforcement intention with respect to the proposed business conduct;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="B.">
        <text>Decline to respond to the request; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="C.">
        <text>Take such other position as the Attorney General considers appropriate.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".09" heading="Effect of Business Review Letter.">
      <paragraph num="A.">
        <text>A business review letter shall recite the facts upon which it is issued, and shall state only the enforcement intention of the Attorney General with respect to the facts as recited. The Attorney General remains completely free to bring whatever action or proceeding the Attorney General subsequently comes to believe is required by the public interest.</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="B.">
        <text>A business review letter issued shall state only the Attorney General's present enforcement intentions under the antitrust laws, and may not in any way be taken to indicate the Attorney General's views on legal or factual issues that may be raised when the proposed business conduct is subject to approval, review, or regulation by a State or federal agency, commission, department, or board. The issuance of a business review letter is not to be represented to mean that the Attorney General believes that there are no anticompetitive consequences warranting a regulatory entity's consideration.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".10" heading="Request May Be Withdrawn At Any Time.">
      <text>A requesting party may withdraw a request for review at any time. The Attorney General remains free, however, to submit comments to the requesting party as the Attorney General considers appropriate. Failure to take action after receipt of documents or information, whether submitted pursuant to this procedure or otherwise, does not in any way limit or stop the Attorney General from taking action at any time after that as the Attorney General considers appropriate.</text>
    </regulation>
    <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".11" heading="Documents Retained.">
      <text>The Attorney General reserves the right to retain documents submitted to the Attorney General under this procedure or otherwise and to use them for purposes of enforcement of the Maryland Antitrust Act, Commercial Law Article, §11-201—11-213, Annotated Code of Maryland.</text>
    </regulation>
    <annotations>
      <annotation type="Authority">Commercial Law Article, §§11-201—11-213, Annotated Code of Maryland</annotation>
      <annotation type="History" subtype="Administrative History">Effective date: October 12, 1992 (19:20 Md. R. 1813)</annotation>
    </annotations>
  </chapter>
</subtitle>