Section 17. Except as provided in subsection (f) of section 5 and subsection (e) of section 6, actions arising out of this chapter shall be commenced within 4 years next after the cause of action accrues; but if a person liable hereunder fraudulently conceals the cause of action from the knowledge of the person entitled to bring it, the period prior to the discovery of its cause of action by the person so entitled shall be excluded in determining the time limit for the commencement of the action. If a cause of action accrues during the pendency of any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding against a person brought by the United States or any of its agencies under the anti-trust laws, the Federal Trade Commission Act, or any other federal act, or brought by the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions under the laws of the commonwealth related to anti-trust laws or to franchising, the actions may be commenced within 1 year after the final disposition of the civil, criminal or administrative proceeding.