Are there provisions in the Competition Act against monopolistic prices ?
There are provisions in the Competition Act against abuse of dominance. One of the abuses is when a dominant enterprise “directly or indirectly imposes unfair or discriminatory prices” in purchase or sale of goods or services. Thus, excessive pricing by a dominant enterprise could, in certain conditions, be regarded as an abuse and, therefore, subject to investigation by the Competition Commission if it were fully functional. However, it should be understood that where pricing is a result of normal supply and demand, the Competition Commission may have no role. Do you agree that in the past, whenever the government has tried to control prices, firms have resorted to hoarding? Wouldn’t a functioning CCI have come in handy in today’s situation? Inflation and inflationary prices are legitimate concerns of the government. While the Competition Commission has no direct role in controlling prices, action by the commission against anti-competitive practices like cartelization or abuse of domi
