(1) If circumstances suggest that domestic competition may be restricted or distorted, the Bundeskartellamt and the supreme Land authorities may conduct an investigation into a specific sector of the economy or – across sectors – into a specific type of agreements or practices (sector inquiry).
(2) In the course of the sector inquiry, the Bundeskartellamt and the supreme Land authorities may conduct the investigations necessary for the application of the provisions of this Part or of Articles 101 or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In this context, they may request information from the undertakings and associations concerned, in particular information on all agreements, decisions and concerted practices.
(3) The Bundeskartellamt shall conclude the sector inquiry within 18 months of its initiation.
(4) The Bundeskartellamt will publish a report on the results of the sector inquiry; the supreme Land authorities may publish such a report. The Bundeskartellamt and the supreme Land authorities may invite third parties to comment. The Bundeskartellamt may make competition policy recommendations in the report pursuant to sentence 1; in this case it will forward the report to the Federal Government.
(5) Section 49(1) as well as Sections 57 to 59b and 61 apply accordingly.
(6) Subsections (1) to (4) sentences 1 and 2 and subsection (5) apply accordingly to cases where the Bundeskartellamt has reasonable grounds to suspect substantial, permanent or repeated infringements of provisions under consumer protection law which, due to their nature or scale, harm the interests of a large number of consumers. This does not apply if the enforcement of the provisions under sentence 1 falls within the competence of other federal authorities. Subsection (5) applies with the proviso that the provisions on entering the premises of parties concerned for the purpose of inspecting and examining documents in accordance with Section 59a, on the seizure of objects in accordance with Section 58 and the provisions on searches under Section 59b do not apply.
(7) Reimbursement of expenses incurred in the assertion of a claim to cease and desist pursuant to Section 13(3) of the German Act against Unfair Competition shall be precluded for the period of four months from the date of publication of a final report on a sector inquiry pursuant to subsection (6).