Johannesburg – Dis-Chem has been fined R1.2 million by the Competition Commission for charging excessive prices for surgical face masks.
“In its order and reasons, the Tribunal has found that Dis-Chem contravened section 8(1)(a) of the Competition Act (the Act) in that it charged an excessive price for three types of surgical face masks (SFM 50, SFM 5 and Folio50) to the detriment of consumers during March 2020,” read the statement from the Tribunal.
The Tribunal said during its investigation, Dis-Chem failed to show that its price increases were reasonable.
“In our view, Dis-Chem’s massive price increases of surgical masks during the complaint period, which constitute an essential component of life-saving first-line protection in a pandemic of seismic proportions, without any significant increases in costs, are utterly unreasonable and reprehensible.
“Accordingly, we find that Dis-Chem has failed to show that its price increases for SFM50 and SFM5 and Folio50 were reasonable in the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The Tribunal launched an investigation after a complaint from the Competition Commission was referred to the Tribunal in April.
Leave a Reply