The Competition Commission of South Africa has reiterated a warning that companies, accused of excessive pricing on essential goods, could be slapped with hefty penalties.
This after the Competition Commission referred its first case of excessive pricing to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.
Complaints were laid against the firm Babelegi Workwear for the alleged excessive pricing of face masks.
Deputy Commissioner at the Competition Commission, Hardin Ratshisusu, has called on the public to continue to report possible cases of price hikes.
“We have been engaging with the major retailers to limit these price hikes. We are looking at penalties of up to 10 % of annual turnover. So the case that we have referred to the tribunal involving Babelegi Workwear, the tribunal has indicated it might hear the matter on the 24th of April. They can email us at ccsa@compcom.co.za or they can visit our website; www.compcom.co.za“.
Media statement on the crackdown on excessive pricing:
Media Statement: @CompComSA cracks down on excessive #pricing pic.twitter.com/EHG5q6NKTf
— CompComSA (@CompComSA) April 15, 2020
In the video below, over 500 excessive pricing complaints received:
