JOHANNESBURG - The Competition Commission on Thursday referred to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution five Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) companies for cartel conduct.
The Commission said that Totalgaz Southern Africa, Oryx Oil South Africa, KayaGas, Easigas and African Oxygen Limited (Afrox), have been charged for fixing gas cylinder prices.
The matter dates back to August 2015 when Competition Commissioner, Tembinkosi Bonakele, initiated an investigation into the LPG companies for allegedly entering into an agreement and/or engaging in a concerted practice to fix the price paid as a deposit fee for LPG cylinders by first time buyers of LPG.
This conduct, labeled as, 'cartel conduct' amounts to price fixing, which contravenes the Competition Act.
The Commission has asked the Tribunal to impose an administrative penalty of 10 percent of the annual turnover of each of Totalgaz, Oryx, KayaGas and Easigas. No administrative penalty is sought against Afrox.