Competition Commission cracks down on mask suppliers who hiked prices by over 950%
The Competition Commission has referred two major suppliers to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for allegedly charging excessive prices on face masks.
In a statement, the commission said Sicuro Safety CC (Sicuro) and Hennox 638 CC t/a Hennox Supplies (Hennox) were charged with the contravention of section 8(1)(a) the Competition Act, read with Regulation 4 of the Consumer Protection Regulations.
This followed the commission’s investigation which found that the firms’ prices for the Filtering Face Piece 1 (FFP1) mask increased “astronomically” by more than 969.07% and 956%, as charged by Sicuro and Hennox, respectively.
“The firms have not furnished the Commission with any reasonable explanation for such excessive price increases,” said spokesperson Sipho Ngwema.
The cases followed the commission’s earlier prosecutions in respect of excessive prices charged for face masks against Babelegi Workwear and Industrial Supplies CC (Babelegi) and Dis-Chem.
In Babelegi a price increase of 1,241% was levied, while in Dis-Chem the price increase for face masks increased by as much as 317%.
“The Commission contends that Sicuro’s and Hennox’s pricing was a direct reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact on the world in general and South Africa in particular.”
In order to address this concern, the commission asked the tribunal to issue an interdict prohibiting the firms from continuing with any excessive pricing conduct, “together with such pricing order as may be necessary to remedy this conduct”.
The commission also asked the tribunal to impose a maximum penalty.
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