Competition Commission v Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (Pty) Ltd (194/CAC//Oct21)
Competition Commission v Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (Pty) Ltd (194/CAC//Oct21) [2022] ZACAC 4; (2022) 43 ILJ 1971 (CAC); [2022] 2 CPLR 22 (CAC) (17 June 2022)
The Competition Appeal Court held that the Tribunal erred in its interpretation of section 27(1)(c) and Rule 39(2)(b), which confer ordinary review powers, not a special or hybrid review akin to an appeal. The correct review standard is lawfulness, reasonableness, and procedural fairness. The Tribunal further erred by misallocating the evidentiary burden, which rests on the merging party (CCBA) to prove substantial compliance with merger conditions. The Court endorsed the objective test for merger specificity from BB Investment, requiring a nexus between retrenchments and the incentives of th…
Source excerpt
- Merger Conditions
- Merger Specific Retrenchment
- Substantial Compliance
- Review Standard
- Public Interest Assessment
- Burden Of Proof