Supreme Court dismisses NaCC appeal against PSN

By: Selma Taapopi

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the Namibia Competition Commission’s (NaCC) against the Pharmaceutical Society of Namibia (PSN).

The matter follows PSN’s review application seeking to overturn the Commission’s decision to pursue action against it in a dispute stemming from NaCC investigations into alleged industry wide price fixing.

The judgment was delivered Wednesday afternoon by Chief Justice, Peter Shivute.

The court further referred the matter back to the appellant to determine, based on the information contained in the appeal record, whether to continue with the investigation against the respondents.

The Commission was directed, should it decide to proceed, to conduct any further investigations it considers necessary and finalise the matter accordingly.

Alternatively, if further investigations are deemed unnecessary, the Commission must decide whether to proceed in terms of section 38 of the Competition Act 2 of 2003 and follow the process outlined in that provision.

The court also ordered the NaCC, as the appellant, to pay the costs of the appeal.

According to the NaCC in an interview last year, the investigation began in 2017 after a pharmaceutical industry participant reported that pharmacies were applying a uniform 50% markup on medicines and dispensary services.

The Commission maintains that such coordinated pricing raises concerns under several provisions of the Competition Act.