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Sasol on Thursday welcomed the Competition Appeal Court’s decision to uphold the company’s appeal against a Competition Tribunal finding that resulted in a R534-million penalty for over-charging local customers for plastic products.
After a hearing concluded in October 2013, the tribunal found against Sasol in relation to its pricing of propylene and polypropylene. At the time, the tribunal said pricing of the two products, key inputs in manufacturing of industrial and household plastic products, would have a knock-on effect on the price of household plastic goods and industrial products.
At the time, the Manufacturing Circle, an industry body made up of South Africa’s leading manufacturing companies, welcomed the penalty, saying: “We regret the monopolistic behaviour as it clearly undermines the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector … It is simply not acceptable for any player to use its upstream dominance to shelter its downstream activities at the cost of economic growth, job creation and affordability to the consumer.”
In addition to the penalty, the tribunal had also determined a method for the company to use in pricing these products in future.
The Competition Appeal Court heard Sasol’s appeal in December last year. Its ruling, released on Wednesday, concludes that the decision of the tribunal is set aside and that Sasol’s appeal is upheld.