Competition law breaches | CCPC

Skip to Content

Categories of competition law breaches

Cartels

A cartel consists of competing businesses which secretly and unlawfully agree not to compete with each other. Cartel conduct may include collusion or agreements in relation to pricing, markets, procurement and supply/output.

Anti-competitive agreements

This section outlines some of the more common types of non‑cartel agreements and coordinated practices that may infringe competition law, such as the exchange of competitively sensitive information, price signalling and vertical agreements.

Decisions of business associations

Decisions of associations of undertakings can take many forms, including articles of association, internal rules of the association, procedures adopted by the association, codes of conduct, standard terms or conditions and pricing or fee guidelines.

Abuse of dominance

Abuse of a dominant position can take many different forms, and the types of conduct involved are not limited to a fixed list. Examples include refusal to supply, predatory pricing, excessive pricing, exclusive dealing, discriminatory treatment and tying/bundling.

Cartel behaviour

Price fixing

Price fixing occurs when competing businesses secretly and unlawfully agree on what to charge for a good or service.

Bid rigging

Bid‑rigging occurs when competing suppliers secretly and unlawfully agree in advance who should win a tender, undermining fair competition.

Market sharing

Market sharing occurs when competing businesses secretly and unlawfully agree to allocate each other a share of a ‘market’.

Labour market cartels

Cartels in labour markets can involve secret, unlawful agreements between competitors not to hire each other’s employees or to limit wages.

Other anti-competitive agreements

Resale price maintenance

Resale price maintenance (RPM) is an agreement between a supplier and a reseller, preventing the reseller from setting its own prices.

Distribution agreements

Certain distribution agreements can can breach competition law where they unduly harm competition.

Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation

Special competition rules apply to the distribution of motor vehicles and spare parts.

Abuse of dominance

Refusal to supply

Refusals by a dominant firm to grant rivals access to essential inputs may breach competition law.

Tying/bundling

Making the purchase of one product conditional on purchasing a different product may harm competition.

Excessive pricing

Excessive pricing is where a firm with a dominant market position sets prices significantly higher than the competitive level.

Exclusive dealing

Exclusive dealing is a practice where a supplier requires a customer to buy from them alone (or a customer requires exclusivity from a supplier).

Predatory pricing

Where a dominant firm prices below its costs with a view to forcing rivals out of business, they may breach competition law.

Discriminatory treatment

Applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions may breach competition law where it damages competition.