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Welcome to the Competition Commission

The Competition Commission is a statutory body constituted in terms of the Competition Act, No 89 of 1998 by the Government of South Africa empowered to investigate, control and evaluate restrictive business practices, abuse of dominant positions and mergers in order to achieve equity and efficiency in the South African economy.

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Commission refers its price fixing findings against major oil companies

The Competition Commission today referred to the Tribunal its findings of price fixing in the supply of bitumen against Chevron SA (Pty) Ltd (“Chevron”), Engen Limited (“Engen”), Shell SA (Pty) Ltd (“Shell”), Total SA (Pty) Ltd (“Total”), Masana Petroleum Solution (Pty) Ltd (“Masana”), Southern African Bitumen Association (“SABITA”), Sasol Limited (“Sasol”) and Tosas (Pty) Ltd (“Tosas”), to the Tribunal for adjudication.

Bitumen is a residual fraction of crude oil. Bitumen and modified bitumen products are mainly used in road construction to tar and rehabilitate roads, which is mainly sold to government entities.

The Commission initiated this investigation on 12 January 2009, following an application for leniency by Sasol and its subsidiary Tosas. In its application Sasol admitted that together with its subsidiary, Tosas, it had colluded with its competitors and was granted conditional immunity from prosecution provided it cooperates with the Commission in its investigation and prosecution. The Commission has asked the Tribunal to impose an administrative penalty of 10% on each of the firms involved, except for Sasol and Tosas. Settlement terms have been agreed in principle with Masana whereby it (Masana) admits guilt and will pay an administrative penalty of R13 million. The settlement agreement will be referred to the Tribunal for confirmation shortly.