Pharmacy group fined R30‚000 for markups on masks

A pharmacy group accused of charging excessive prices for face masks and hand sanitisers at its Nelspruit and Pretoria branches has agreed to pay a R30‚000 fine and make a donation to the solidarity fund for Covid-19.

The agreement to pay a R30‚000 fine and the R3‚875 donation are two consent agreements the Van Heerden Group reached with the Competition Commission. 

The settlement of R30‚000‚ applicable to the Nelspruit branch‚ and the solidarity fund donation‚ applicable to the Pretoria branch‚ form part of two separate consent agreements that the pharmacy group reached with the commission.

These consent agreements have since been confirmed as orders of the Competition Tribunal.

In terms of the agreements‚ the pharmacy group has also agreed to reduce its gross profit margins for these essential products for the duration of the national state of disaster.

On March 24‚ the Competition Commission received a complaint that the company’s Nelspruit branch was charging excessive prices for face masks.

The commission investigated and concluded there was no justification for significant price increases for masks between February and March.The commission said the Pretoria branch had sold two types of hand sanitiser before the pandemic but later started selling an additional eight types.

The commission said the gross profit margin in March was unreasonably high for an essential product during a national state of disaster.

The tribunal said these two respective agreements were the fifth and sixth consent agreements — relating to alleged excessive pricing in the context of Covid-19 — which have been approved as orders of the tribunal since the lockdown began. — TimesLIVE