Competition Commission Replaces Rule 39 on Merger Conditions Breach

Posted 13 October 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Competition Law

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: Under the Competition Act, No. 89 of 1998, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has gazetted an amendment replacing Rule 39 of the Rules for the Conduct of Proceedings in the Competition Commission with immediate effect.

Rule 39 regulates the procedural framework governing breaches of merger approval conditions and obligations. The newly substituted rule establishes a significantly more detailed enforcement mechanism than its predecessor, following the prior publication of draft amendments for public comment.

Under the revised rule, key procedural changes include:

  • Standing investigatory powers: The Competition Commission is explicitly empowered to initiate an investigation at any time to determine whether a firm has breached a merger condition or obligation imposed under Chapter 3 of the Act;
  • Comprehensive compliance scrutiny: The Commission may probe adherence to public interest conditions, employment commitments, operational undertakings, and structural divestiture requirements; and
  • Immediate operational effect: The revised investigatory framework applies immediately to all historical and current conditional merger approvals subject to ongoing Commission monitoring.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Update competition compliance registries and monitoring templates to reflect the Commission’s active, continuous power to initiate breach investigations at any point post-merger.
  • For your business: Maintain exhaustive evidentiary files for all corporate client transactions where approval was granted subject to conditions, ensuring records are structured for immediate regulatory production.
  • For your clients: Audit conditional merger approvals across all acquiring and target entities immediately to verify strict adherence to employment, procurement, and investment conditions before Commission scrutiny is triggered.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/competition-commission-rules-breach-of-merger-approval-conditions-replaced

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