At the request of a market participant, the AFTA may give an informal opinion on the application of a statutory provision subject to oversight or implemented by the AFTA. Such an informal opinion contains a preliminary opinion of the AFTA based on information provided by the applicant. Such an informal opinion does not prevent the AFTA from initiating an investigation or making a decision at a later stage. This means that the AFTA may come to a different conclusion if new information becomes available to it, and the informal opinion is not binding on the AFTA in that sense.

Informal opinions can be published, e.g., if this can contribute to legal certainty and the interpretation of standards laid down in the Competition Ordinance. Informal opinions are published anonymously on the AFTA website. In this process, not only confidential information is removed but information from which the identity of the applicant can be inferred is also removed from the opinion.