Guidelines on the Exchange of Information between Competitors under the Competition Act No.89 of 1998 (as amended) 03 July 2017: Draft

The Competition Commission has published Guidelines on the Exchange of Information between Competitors under the Competition Act No.89 of 1998 (as amended) 03 July 2017: Draft for comment. "The Commission identified a need to provide guidance to both public and private stakeholders, as well as industry associations, on the sharing of information between competitors. From time to time industry associations and other stakeholders request advisory opinions from the Commission on setting up information exchange systems and it is apparent that there is some uncertainty on what constitutes permissible and impermissible information exchange within the framework of the provisions of section 4 of the Act. In the circumstances there is clearly a need for the Commission to provide guidance to relevant stakeholders on the type of information exchange that may potentially be harmful to competition and the type that may enhance efficiencies.

The Guidelines present the general approach that the Commission will follow in determining whether information exchange between firms that are competitors amounts to a contravention of section 4 of the Act. The principles set out herein are not intended to be applied mechanically, as information exchange cases are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on, amongst other things, the nature of the information sought to be exchanged, the purpose for which the information is being exchanged and the market characteristics and dynamics."