Under
the Protection of Competition and the Prevention of Monopoly Law (the “Competition
Law”), Sultani Decree 67/2014, the role of the Competition Authority was
originally assigned to the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (the “PACP”)
and specifically to the Department of Competition and Monopoly Prevention. On 9 January 2018, the Centre for the
Protection of Competition and Prevention of Monopoly (the “Centre”) was
established by Sultani Decree 2/2018 (the “CPC Law”) and took over the
role of the Competition Authority from PACP. The establishment of a dedicated Centre
emphasises the importance of competition in the Oman business landscape. The main purpose of the Centre is to monitor
the application and implementation of the Competition Law and to promote free
competition in the Omani market.
The
Centre falls under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and
the CPC Law provides for the
appointment of a Chairman, Board of Directors and CEO. Accordingly, the Centre has recently appointed
the Board of Directors under the Chairmanship of His Highness Dr Adham Al Said.
The
Chairman of the Centre is appointed, inter
alia, to draft the Executive Regulations of the Competition Law, which will
clarify and determine the actual applicability of a number of provisions. Such Regulations will be subject to approval
of the Board of Directors of the Centre and of the Ministerial Cabinet. Following the issue of the Regulations, the
Centre will be able to pursue its objectives in a better defined legal
framework. The implementation of a
number of procedures (including the temporary exemption which may be considered
by the Board of the Centre whenever such exemption pursues higher interests by
encouraging development and competition) is entrusted to the Regulations. We have no indication of their envisaged
content; therefore, in the current circumstances and pending the publication of
the Regulations, the only procedure that appears sufficiently defined is the
request of approval for acts leading to economic concentration. We expect that until the Regulations (or other
applicable legislation) are issued, the Centre would not be in a position to
exercise some of its competences.
The
objectives are set out in Chapter Two of the CPC Law and include: protect the market from anti-competitive
practices, publish and promote studies that focus on monopolistic practices
that affect the free market, undertake measures regarding the prevention of
practices that are in violation of competition, study the suggestions and
recommendations received by the Centre with regards to the protection of
competition and the prevention of monopoly, and represent the Sultanate of Oman
in regional and international conferences and meetings related to the Centre’s
scope of work.
To
share information on its activities, the Centre has published an official
website which sets out as the general goals of the Centre: (a) supporting domestic companies in order to
enable them to compete in the international market and (b) attracting foreign
investment to Oman.
Article
17 of the Competition Law states that any person may report to the Centre any
agreement, procedure or practice which may be in breach of the provisions of
the Law. The Centre is responsible for
receiving complaints pertaining to anti-competition and monopoly practices and,
in connection with each complaint, conduct research, investigations and
evidence collection. The penalties
stated in Chapter Four of the Competition Law are enforced by the personnel
appointed jointly by the competent authority and the Chairman of the Centre.
As of
today, there is little information available on actual proceedings. The most important indication of how
competition laws are interpreted and implemented worldwide can be found in
anti-trust judgment and other similar decisions, which are customarily
published. The Competition Law provides
that in the event of a violation, “the final decisions and provisions shall
be published in two daily newspapers, one of which shall be Arabic, or by any
means of advertising at the expense of the violator.” This implies that, over time, it should be
possible to follow the evolution of the decisions of the Centre and possibly
the courts where applicable.
