South African pharmaceutical retailer Dis-Chem says it will be appealing the decision by the Competition Tribunal to find it guilty of charging excessive prices for surgical face masks during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and to fine it R1.2 million.
Dis-Chem said yesterday that it would take the matter to the Competition Appeal Court as the decision seems to contain a number of errors of fact and law.
In a statement, the company said the Competition Tribunal failed to take into consideration that Dis-Chem was reacting in a responsible manner to significant disruptions to the market and increased its retail prices while facing significant price increases and shortages from its suppliers.
In May, Competition Commission head Tembinkosi Bonakele told Parliament's portfolio committee on trade and industry that the entity was looking into 1,300 complaints emanating from the Covid-19 crisis.
He said the complaints embroiled the entire retail sector from big companies to small outlets, with 43% coming from the economic hub of Gauteng province.
