The High Court has dismissed an appeal by Accurate Steel Mills Ltd and upheld a KSh26.8 million fine imposed three years ago for price-fixing, clearing the way for the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to enforce the penalty.
The judge ruled that CAK did not err in law or fact when it required the manufacturer to explain its involvement after presenting evidence, including several emails containing anti-competitive information, and affirmed that the legal burden of proof remained with CAK throughout the proceedings.
Accurate Steel Mills was one of more than 13 firms found guilty in the case, which attracted total fines of KSh338.8 million, and the fine represents 0.5 per cent of the company’s gross annual turnover in 2021.
The company argued that merely receiving emails with subject lines such as “pricing” and “proposed thickness of tubes and pipes” did not prove participation in the alleged conduct, but the court said the manufacturer failed to explain how its conduct could not amount to passive participation under Section 21 of the Competition Act, quoting, “The only way that the Appellant could have avoided liability was by publicly denouncing the actions. It did not, and was thus found culpable.”
In addition to the fine, CAK directed Accurate Steel Mills to implement an approved competition compliance programme within 12 months, with the implementation subject to a compliance check by the regulator.
