Aranda Textile Mills (Pty) Ltd and Another v The Competition Commission of South Africa (190/CAC/DEC20) [2021] ZACAC 1; 2023 (2) SA 182 (CAC); [2023] 1 CPLR 3 (CAC) (17 December 2021)

Parties

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Competition Tribunal

Legal Issues

1. 1 Whether the Competition Commission proved on a balance of probabilities that Aranda and Mzansi engaged in collusive tendering and price fixing in contravention of section 4(1)(b)(i) and (iii) of the Competition Act.
2. 2 Whether communications and economic relationship between manufacturer and distributor constitute a horizontal relationship for purposes of section 4(1)(b).
3. 3 Whether the Tribunal erred by relying on inferential reasoning in the absence of direct evidence and proper characterisation analysis.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the Competition Commission failed to discharge its burden of proof on a balance of probabilities that Aranda and Mzansi engaged in collusive tendering or price fixing in contravention of section 4(1)(b) of the Competition Act. The Tribunal erred by relying on inferential reasoning without sufficient proven primary facts and by ignoring direct evidence from the appellants. Communications between manufacturer and distributor, and the existence of a vertical relationship, do not automatically constitute a horizontal relationship for purposes of section 4(1)(b). The 2012 manufacturing agreement had terminated and could not be relied upon as evidence of collusion for the...

Court Disposition

Appeal upheld; Tribunal's order set aside; complaint referral dismissed.

Orders

• The appeal is upheld.
• The Tribunal’s order of 4 December 2020 is set aside and replaced by the following order: 'The Competition Commission’s Complaint Referral against Aranda Textile Mills (Pty) Ltd and Mzansi Blanket Supplies (Pty) Ltd is dismissed.'