RENOVATING IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Competition Tribunal in South Africa has granted an application by the Competition Commission to amend its complaint referral against Corobrik (Pty) Ltd and Bosun Structures And Precast (Pty) Ltd t/a Smartstone Kwazulu-Natal (“Smartstone”). Here are the key points:

●     Amendment of Complaint: The scope of the Commission’s referral will be extended to include a complaint of price fixing in addition to the existing complaint of alleged market division.

●     Reason for Amendment: The Commission applied to amend its referral after it said it uncovered new information during the discovery phase of the proceedings.

●     Opposition: Smartstone chose to oppose the application while Corobrik did not do so.

●     Next Steps: The Tribunal directed Smartstone to file a supplementary affidavit. The main matter will only be heard after all “pre-trial” proceedings have been concluded.

The initial complaint under investigation was in relation to the allocation of customers between the two firms in contravention of South Africa's Competition Act. Corobrik and Smartstone are major suppliers of paving to the building and home improvement sectors.