A Durban-based provider of fire protection services admits to collusive tendering in relation to tenders issued by Old Mutual and Tiger Brands respectively in 2016.
 
Ramsin lndustrial Supplies CC, trading as Fire Unlimited (Fire Unlimited), admits that it contravened section 4(1)(b)(iii) of the Competition Act (the Act) and agrees to pay an administrative penalty (a fine) of R59 660.05 (fifty-nine thousand six hundred and sixty Rand and five cents).
 
This forms part of a consent agreement between the Competition Commission (the Commission) and Fire Unlimited, which has been confirmed as an order of the Tribunal.
 
In terms of the consent agreement Fire Unlimited agrees to, among others:

 
Background
 
In July 2017, the Commission launched an investigation into the Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (ASIB), and all sprinkler installers registered with it.
 
Investigators found information indicating that Fire Unlimited and Eagle Fire Control CC may have entered into an agreement and/or engaged in a concerted practice to collude when bidding for tenders for the supply of automatic fire sprinklers. Further investigation by the Commission revealed the following:
 

A Gauteng company that trades in alternators, starter motors and associated spare parts has admitted to contravening section 4(1)(b)(ii) of the Competition Act (i.e. dividing markets) and agrees to pay a fine of R458 979.52 (four hundred and fifty-eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy-nine Rand and fifty-two cents).
 
This forms part of the terms of a consent agreement between the Commission and Kalundu Trading (Pty) Ltd. The Tribunal has confirmed the consent agreement as an order.
 
In addition to the admission and the payment of a fine, Kalundu also agrees, among others, to refrain from engaging in prohibited conduct in future and to implement and monitor a competition law compliance programme.
 
Background
 
In March 2019, the Commission received a complaint against Kalundu and POS Services Holland (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (POS), a starter and alternator importer & exporter also based in Gauteng.
 
The allegations against the two companies were that they had entered into an agreement and/or engaged in a concerted practice to divide markets by allocating customers in the market for the supply of alternators and starter motors.
 
The Commission’s investigation found that the owners of both companies had indeed entered into an agreement to allocate customers towards the end of 2006, subsequent to POS entering the South African market. Among others, the Commission found:
 

Oil and More General Trading CC (O&M), a Cape Town food distributor and restaurant supplier, admits to excessive pricing of nitrile gloves during March and April 2020 in contravention of the Act and the Consumer Protection Regulations (the Regulations).
 
Nitrile gloves fall under the category of “medical and hygiene supplies” in the Regulations.
 
In its consent agreement with the Commission, confirmed as an order of the Tribunal, O&M agrees to donate R18 361.51 to the Solidarity Fund. In addition, O&M agrees to:
 

 
In April 2020, the Commission received a complaint against O&M for the alleged inflated pricing of nitrile blue disposable gloves (nitrile gloves) between March and April 2020.
 
The Commission investigated and concluded that O&M’s gross profit margin during March and April 2020, in respect of nitrile gloves sold, amounts to a contravention of section 8(1)(a) of the Act (i.e. excessive pricing) read together with regulation 4 of the Regulations.
 
The Commission found that the pandemic gave market power to O&M in the market for the supply of food products and consumables to the hospitality industry in the City of Cape Town.