The UK government has today (21 September) published guidance aimed at helping the public, businesses and authorities with a role in enforcement to understand the day-to-day functioning of the UK’s internal market system.

The system is set out in the UK Internal Market Act 2020 to protect businesses, jobs and livelihoods by ensuring there are no harmful new barriers to trade across the United Kingdom.

Regulations introduced to Parliament support today’s launch of the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). These will enable the OIM to carry out the independent advisory, monitoring and reporting functions to support the operation of the UK Internal Market Act 2020.

These regulations also set limits on the financial penalties the OIM may issue if an organisation fails to comply with an information notice. This follows a public consultation earlier this year.

In addition, the CMA has set out how the OIM will operate and will use its information-gathering powers.