On 23rd November 2021, the Commission received a complaint from Paramount Holdings Limited against Stansfield Motor Services Limited, on allegations of restrictive business conduct in the supply of Yamaha products in Malawi.
Stansfield Motor Services Limited, is a newly established company that came into operation around 2019 when the Stansfield Motors Limited exited the market.
The Complainant further alleged that prior to the exit, Stansfield Motors Limited held an exclusive dealership agreement with Yamaha Motor Co. of Japan for supply of Yamaha products in Malawi, which according to their understanding, automatically ended at the time the company went insolvent and exited the market in 2019. However, the Respondent adopted it and started enforcing it illegally to prohibit other firms from supplying Yamaha products in the country.
The Complainant submitted that the Respondent, in disguise of the alleged exclusive dealership agreement issued letters threatening to take legal actions against any firm found supplying Yamaha products in the country.
The investigation found that the alleged conduct by the Respondent puts other suppliers at a disadvantage, as it restricts them access to Yamaha market and thereby causing distortion in competition.
Following deliberations, the Commission found that the Respondent’s conduct amounted to a violation of Section 32 (1), of the CFTA, which prohibits anticompetitive behavior and ordered the Respondent to pay a fine of Five Hundred Thousand Kwacha (MK500,000) for engaging in anti-competitive conduct.