Levelling The Playing field with Competition Authority

Under Section 29(1) of the Competition Act, any agreement or arrangement between a holding company and its subsidiaries or companies which are vertically integrated is exempt from the provisions of section 25(1), 26(1) and 27, all of which prohibit anti-competitive practices. The rationale behind this provision is that a company and its subsidiaries are deemed to be a single entity and therefore cannot enter into agreements with itself. 

However, Section 29(2) provides that where there is some degree of common ownership and control between different companies, the Competition Authority shall adopt the presumption that any agreements between such companies are subject to the provisions prohibiting restrictive agreements. In other words, it is for the companies with common ownership to prove that they are not engaged in anti-competitive practices. The presumption means that the Competition Authority will automatically investigate them even when common ownership is apparent.