On 25 November 2009, the Mauritian Competition Act will come
into full effect. An apparently enthusiastic and skilful
Competition Commission has been waiting in the wings since June
2009 to implement this important legislation and is rearing to go.
With powers to implement fines of up to ten percent of a
company's annual turnover, multiplied the number of years that
the restrictive agreement was in place (up to a maximum of five
years), companies will need to urgently pay attention to this
expansion in Mauritian law, or else soon realise the true meaning
of "ignorance of the law is no excuse".
The Act deals with both merger activity and restrictive
prohibited practices. A merger situation is described as the
combining, under common ownership and control, of two or more
entities of which at least one carries on its activities in
Mauritius or through a company incorporated in Mauritius. In terms
of prohibited practices, the guidelines issued by the Commission
stipulate
