MoUs

The East African Community Competition Act, 2006

Competition Act

The East African Community Competition Act, 2006, An act of the Community to promote and protect fair competition in the Community, to provide for consumer welfare, to establish the East African Community Competition Authority and for related matters

MOU’s

MoUs

• CAK
• FCC
• RICA
• University of Leiden
• AFCAC

Guidelines

Guidelines

Restraints by Enterprises and Abuse of Dominance Guidelines 

On March, 2024, the Board of Commissioners approved the EAC Restraints by Enterprises and abuse of market dominance guidelines, 2024 (the Guidelines)

These Guidelines are for general guidance on the implementation of the East African Community Competition Act, 2006 (“the Act”) and the EAC Competition Regulations, 2010 (“the Regulations”) provisions dealing with restraints by enterprises and abuse of market dominance. 

These Guidelines are aimed at creating transparency and predictability on how the Authority carries out its legal obligations and aims to help undertakings to conduct their own assessment regarding restraints by enterprises and abuse of dominance prohibited under the Act and Regulations. 

The guidelines also give guidance on how some agreements or concerted practices, though anti-competitive in nature, could be permitted or exempted by the Authority under Section 7 of the Act.

It should be noted that these Guidelines must be applied with due consideration of the specific circumstances of each case. i.e. the Authority will review the circumstances of each case by analyzing the object or effects or likely effects of each agreement or concerted practice on competition and consumer welfare.

EAC Guidelines on the Processes and Procedures on Financial Penalties (2024)

The Board of Commissioners approved the EAC Guidelines on the Processes and Procedures on Financial Penalties (2024) in March 2024.

The EAC Guidelines on the Processes and Procedures on Financial Penalties (2024) (Guidelines) have been developed in line with the relevant provisions of the Act and the Regulations. These Guidelines set out considerations by the Authority the assessment of fines and penalties against undertakings that are found to have contravened the Act. Further, the Guidelines provide undertakings and their legal representatives with information on the factors and issues that the Authority shall take into account when determining fines or other administrative penalties for any violation of the Act and Regulations.

The purposes of these Guidelines are to: enhance consistency, transparency, fairness, objectivity and predictability in the determination of penalties and in particular the imposition and calculation of fines; achieve proportionality in the remedies and penalties imposed against the degree of contravention of the Act or subsidiary instruments; ensure penalties have a deterrent effect on future behavior and prevent undertakings from contravening the Act and Regulations; and promote awareness of the Act and subsidiary instruments as well as compliance with the law. 

East African Community Competition Authority Corporate Leniency Guidelines

The East African Community Competition Authority Corporate Leniency Guidelines have been developed pursuant to section 42 (3) of the Act which provides that “The Authority shall be authorized to reduce penalties for or grant amnesty to any one that co-operates with the Authority in the enforcement of the East African Community Competition Act by submitting full and correct information.”

The aim of offering leniency is to make it easier to expose restraint by enterprises (cartels) and other prohibited vertical agreements (such as Resale Price Maintenance) and to reduce the desire to participate in prohibited agreements. These Guidelines encourage undertakings and naturalpersons to come forward to the Authority with information that helps to demonstrate the existence of a prohibited agreement or that represents significant added value relative to the information already in the hands of the Authority.

EAC Gazette No.1 of 2015

Gazettes

Decisions and Directives of the 29th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council No. 1, Page 2; Legal Notice: Commencement Instrument (EAC Competition Act, 2006) No. 2, Page 8

The East African Community Competition Regulations, 2010

Regulations and Rules

The East African Community Competition Regulations, 2010