Tag: Competition Act

On 23 April 2021, the Competition Commission published a notice in the Government Gazette in which it, inter alia, indicated that it had published its final non-confidential report of the commission’s findings on the impact of the COVID-19 Block Exemptions and the commission’s advocacy and enforcement work.

South African competition law is highly regarded internationally. In 2018, the Global Competition Review (GCR) ranked the Competition Commission as the best regulator globally. With such praise, one would expect the economy to be the most competitive in the world. This is not the case. Instead, South Africa ranks very poorly in the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World report, which measures the freedom of economies globally with standards like regulatory burden, property rights protection, intervention and the general ease of opening and doing business in a country.

On 10 December 2020, the Competition Commission issued the final guidelines for competition in the South African Automotive Aftermarket (Automotive Guidelines). The Automotive Guidelines are forward thinking as the measures proposed therein apply not only to internal combustion engines (ICE) but also to electric vehicles (EV's) and to propulsion by other means (i.e. hybrid).

A number of fundamental changes to the Competition Act demonstrate government's strengthened policy commitment to drive radical economic transformation in South Africa and are likely to be more regularly used in the midst of COVID-19.

On 18 May 2020, the Competition Commission published its final Buyer Power Guidelines (the guidelines). Earlier this year, the new buyer power provisions of the Competition Act 89 of 1998 (the Act) came into effect. These provisions prohibit dominant buyers in designated sectors from imposing unfair prices or trading conditions on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and firms owned and controlled by historically disadvantaged persons (HDP).

In response to the COVID-19 emergency, the South African Reserve Bank (Reserve Bank) and the South African financial sector regulators, the Prudential Authority and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), have implemented several mitigation measures to support the economy and companies.

Amendments to the Competition Act were published in the Government Gazette in February 2019. These are, however, not yet in force pending the publication of a date to be proclaimed by the President. Some of the more prominent changes to the Act are as follows.

When faced with legislation that requires parties to take certain steps or prevents them from implementing a particular course of action, the questions often asked include 'what are the consequences and who will be liable to pay?' For a long time been uncertainty about the penalty firms would face if they fail to notify a merger and/or implement a merger without the requisite approval of the competition authorities.

The South African Competition Amendment Act 18 of 2018 (‘the Amendment Act’) which was tabled in Parliament in July 2018, and signed into law by President Ramaphosa last month, has been the subject of much debate and comment, especially insofar as it aims to implement far-reaching changes to the currentCompetition Act 89 of 1998 (‘the Competition Act’).

In the case of Dawn Consolidated Holdings Pty Ltd (Dawn) and others versus the Competition Commission, the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) had to consider whether a non-compete clause in a shareholder’s agreement contravened the Competition Act, and laid down some guidance for determining whether agreements exhibit the character of anti-competitive conduct.