Centaline not ‘spared’ in alleged net commission fixing: Competition Commission

The Competition Commission said it is not sparing Centaline Property and its subsidiary Ricacorp after filing a writ only against Midland Holdings Ltd and its two subsidiaries for fixing the net commission rate at 2 percent. 

The commission reiterated that fixing the rate for first-hand property transactions is a serious competitive misconduct and noted that Centaline and Ricacorp have signed a leniency agreement to provide information and aid the commission during investigation into case. 

The commission pointed out that cartel conduct is usually engaged in secret and would hardly come to light without tip-offs from informants.  

The leniency policy may give the impression that the commission is sparing the parties involved in cartel conduct in the short-term, but it can eradicate cartel conduct and benefit consumers in the long run, the commission said. 

The policy also offers incentives to involved parties to stop and report their cartel conduct without any backfire, according to the watchdog, which described it as a race since the watchdog will only accept the first enterprise that reports. 

The commission warned applying leniency doesn’t mean that there are no consequences. If the Competition Tribunal rules that Centaline engaged in an anti-competitive conduct, the commission could issue an infringement notice to ask the agency to admit that it has breached the Competition Ordinance. 

The move can convenience affected consumers in bringing legal actions against Centaline and the commission can request the agency to implement relief measures.

Read More: Three Midland companies and five directors accused of fixing net commission rate at 2pc