Anti-trust law worries dismissed

Cape Town - Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa says parliament was correct to reject President Kgalema Motlanthe's concerns about the Competition Amendment Bill, and to send it back to the presidency without making the changes it requested.

While it's likely that the bill will end up being judged by the Constitutional Court, Mpahlwa said it introduced critical requirements to strengthen competition authorities so they could be more effecitve in eliminating anti-competitive behaviour.

"In our view, there are no risks of those provisions (the ones Motlanthe flagged) being declared unconstitutional," said Mpahlwa in what's likely to be his last briefing as trade and industry minister.

Motlanthe sent the bill, which is one of the key features of Mpahlwa's tenure, back to parliament.

His concerns centred on the bill's aim to make company directors and management criminally liable for uncompetitive behaviour, especially because it required a "reverse onus" for them to prove their innocence rather than the state having to prove their guilt.

Motlanthe is also concerned that the bill's introduction of "complex monopoly" may outlaw four-party payment schemes like Mastercard and, therefore, be unconstitutional. During public hearings, Mastercard had objected to a lack of consultation around this concept.

According to the bill, a complex monopoly exists if at least two-thirds of goods and/or services in a particular market are supplied by five or fewer companies.

It also outlaws a situation where two or more companies conduct their business in a conscious parallel or co-ordinated manner "without agreement among themselves" and if the behaviour prevents or reduces competition.

Competition authorities may investigate these types of anti-competitive behaviour without receiving a complaint.

- Fin24.com