Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC)

The business development officers (BDO) will perform the role of, and act as agents, for the ICCC in Simbu.

Sections 7 (1) and 106 (c) of the ICCC Act empower the ICCC, amongst other things, to liaise with Government agencies on matters relating to consumer protection legislation.

On 09^th April, 2021, Link PNG lodged an application for authorisation pursuant to Section 70 of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission Act 2002, to enter into, and give effect to, a proposed JOA which includes provision of a proposed code-share agreement with PNG Air for the duration of five years.

According to Link PNG’s application, the proposed JOA is for the purpose of, among other things, the coordination of flight schedules, fleet allocation, operational and maintenance of services and charter airline operations between the two airlines.

For this month, the Indicative Retail Prices (IRPs) for petrol, diesel and kerosene will all increase on average throughout PNG.

The rise in retail price is mainly attributed to reduction in supply from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, and increased global demand.

The domestic retail fuel prices for this month are inclusive of the IPPs, domestic sea and road freight rates for the third quarter of 2021, the annual wholesale and retail margins for 2021, applicable excise duties, and Goods and Services Tax (GST).

PORT MORESBY

ICCC Commissioner and CEO, Paulus Ain, says the prices set by the ICCC are the indicative maximum retail prices, for which retailers may choose to sell below the ICCC approved maximum price.

He made this statement following the announcement of new May fuel prices, which came into effect on Saturday, May 8.

“The ICCC would like to remind retailers who sell fuel using pumps to set fuel prices to one decimal place while the ICCC will continue to set the maximum price to 2 decimal places,” Ain stated.

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) listed these reasons after acknowledging the electricity supply issues that are impacting all customer categories and businesses in Lae, Morobe Province.

ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Paulus Ain, said the ICCC noted a few issues that have certainly affected PPL’s performance and thus, the reliability of electricity supply around the country.

Some of these notable issues include:

For this month, the Indicative Retail Prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene will all increase on average throughout PNG. These price increases were mainly been attributed to the rise in crude oil prices in January 2021.  

The average crude oil price increased as a result of demand for heating oil and tighter global supplies by Saudi Arabia[1]. Furthermore, news regarding the developments of new COVID-19 vaccines has had a positive impact on commodity prices, including oil.

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) recently made this announcement.

“This essentially means that, in its considerations of likely negative effects this acquisition may have on competition, the ICCC did not find any serious concerns,” stated the consumer watchdog.

“On 04th December 2020, Paradise Co lodged a clearance application seeking approval from the ICCC to proceed with acquiring Hugo.

For this month, the Indicative Retail Prices (IRP) for petrol, diesel and kerosene will decrease on average throughout PNG. These retail price decreases are mainly attributed to the average reduction in the imported costs of petrol, diesel and kerosene for this month, and also the average drop in the road freight rates for this quarter (October-December).

Trading as Stop N Shop, it was alleged that the business was engaging in anti-competitive conduct.

The ICCC conducted market inquiries into the allegations to ascertain if CPL was pricing Pauls milk below landed costs and if this conduct breached relevant provisions of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission 2002 (ICCC Act).

ICCC said the parties did not meet the mandatory pre-merger notification thresholds.

ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Paulus Ain, said as a good corporate citizen, MiBank took the initiative to inform the ICCC of its intention to acquire PML and asked for the ICCC’s views.

As a first step, the ICCC considered whether or not the acquisition would meet any of the two mandatory notification thresholds. Section 81(1) (a) and (b) of the ICCC Act specifically states that: