13Notification for guidance
(1)A party to an agreement who applies for the agreement to be examined under this section must—
(a)notify the Director of the agreement; and
(b)apply to him for guidance.
(2)On an application under this section, the Director may give the applicant guidance as to whether or not, in his view, the agreement is likely to infringe the Chapter I prohibition.
(3)If the Director considers that the agreement is likely to infringe the prohibition if it is not exempt, his guidance may indicate—
(a)whether the agreement is likely to be exempt from the prohibition under—
(i)a block exemption;
(ii)a parallel exemption; or
(iii)a section 11 exemption; or
(b)whether he would be likely to grant the agreement an individual exemption if asked to do so.
(4)If an agreement to which the prohibition applies has been notified to the Director under this section, no penalty is to be imposed under this Part in respect of any infringement of the prohibition by the agreement which occurs during the period—
(a)beginning with the date on which notification was given; and
(b)ending with such date as may be specified in a notice in writing given to the applicant by the Director when the application has been determined.
(5)The date specified in a notice under subsection (4)(b) may not be earlier than the date on which the notice is given.