Competition Act, 1998 (Act No. 89 of 1998)

Notice No. 473

29 March 2019

GG 42337

Economic Development Department

Competition Commission South Africa

Preface

March 2019 Final

These guidelines have been prepared in terms of section 79(1) of the Competition Act No. 89 of 1998, as amended ("the Act") which allows the Competition Commission ("Commission") to prepare guidelines to indicate its policy approach on any matter falling within its jurisdiction in terms of the Act.

In recent years there has been a growing number of cases involving the failure to notify mergers as well as the implementation of mergers contrary to Chapter 3 of the Act. In order to deter firms from failing to notify mergers which are notifiable ("failure to notify") and/or implementing notifiable mergers without first obtaining approval from the competition authorities ("prior implementation"), the Commission has developed a methodology setting out its approach in determining penalties in cases of failure to notify and/or prior implementation.

These guidelines present the general methodology that the Commission will follow in determining administrative penalties when concluding consent or settlement agreements and seeking an administrative penalty in the Competition Tribunal in cases of failure to notify and/or prior implementation. The Commission recognises that the imposition of administrative penalties is not a precise science. Therefore these guidelines will not preclude the Commission from exercising its discretion on a case-by-case basis. The primary objective of these guidelines is to provide objectivity, certainty and transparency in the method of determining administrative penalties in cases of failure to notify and/or prior implementation.