Market Intelligence

The Competition Commission's Draft Guidelines on Repair, Service and Maintenance Aftermarkets propose to regulate how original equipment manufacturers control access to repair parts and services. Drawing from decades-old US precedent, these guidelines raise fundamental questions about whether competition law should intervene in aftermarkets where firms may lack traditional market power. The proposed framework risks expanding competition law beyond its conventional boundaries while potentially imposing oblig

The Competition Commission's recent dawn raids in the scrap-metal sector signal a shift from policy to enforcement action. This practical webinar explores how businesses can identify collusion risks, prepare for dawn raids, and manage competitor contact under South African Competition Act provisions. The session addresses business readiness in an era where digital evidence, including AI-related records, plays an increasingly central role in competition investigations.

The Competition Appeal Court recently examined the extent to which South Africa's Competition Commission must investigate complaints before declining to pursue them, and whether complainants can challenge such decisions. In Nevilles Tours and Logistics v The Competition Commission, the court addressed a bus operator's allegations of predatory and excessive pricing by dominant competitors, finding the Commission's initial investigation inadequate and setting new standards for meaningful inquiry.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) seeks to establish a continent-wide competition framework through its Competition Protocol, adopted in February 2023.

The Competition Commission has released draft amendments to the Small Merger Guidelines, proposing significantly higher thresholds for small merger notifications. These changes aim to capture potentially anti-competitive acquisitions in digital and technology markets where target firms are acquired before generating substantial turnover or assets, but possess significant future growth potential.

Two European Commission rulings demonstrate that dominant firms face competition law risks not only from pricing and supply practices, but also from misleading statements about competitors' products. These cases raise important questions about whether similar conduct could constitute exclusionary abuse under South African competition law, particularly section 8(1)(c) of the Competition Act.