a tripartite report - Unctad

ZAMBIA
The purpose of the market inquiries, which were
not provided for in the old Act, is to determine
whether there are serious competition concerns in
-
from prohibition under the Act. The inquiries are
also of particular importance since they enable the
Commission to pro-actively investigate competition
concerns in any sector.
According to the gazetted Regulations to the Act
(the Competition and Consumer Protection (General)
Regulations, 2011), the Commission may
initiate a market inquiry based on: (a) complaints
made to it by enterprises, consumers or representative
bodies; (b) studies conducted by any relevant
bodies on a particular sector; (c) its own research;
(d) its experience in regulating restrictive business
and anticompetitive trade practices; or (e) representations
made to it by the Government regarding
a particular sector or type of agreement.
(d) Part VII: Consumer Protection
In the new Act, the provisions on consumer protection
take up a whole Part VI, with ten sections,
127
as opposed to only one section in the old Act. The
provisions have been enhanced to effectively protect
consumers from unfair trading practices and
unscrupulous businesses. Consumer protection
laws in Zambia had always been fragmented with
no central agency to enforce the scattered pieces
of legislation. The new Competition and Consumer
Protection Act harmonizes the various consumer
protection legislation, with the Commission being
the focal point enforcement agency.
In terms of section 45 of the Act, a trading
practice is considered to be an ‘unfair trading
practice’ against consumer protection if “(a) it
misleads consumers; (b) it compromises the
standard of honesty and good faith which an
enterprise can reasonably be expected to meet;
or (c) it places pressure on consumers by use of
harassment or coercion; and thereby distorts, or
is likely to distort, the purchasing decisions of
consumers”.
Unfair trading practices are prohibited under the
Act. The various unfair trading practices that are
prohibited under the Act include those described
in Box 11 as follows:
Box 11: Prohibited Unfair Trading Practices under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2010
False or misleading representations (section 47 of the Act): falsely representing that: (i) any goods are of a
particular standard, quality, value, grade, composition, style or model or have a particular history or previous
case; (ii) any services are of a particular standard, quality, value or grade; (iii) any goods are new; (iv) a
particular person has agreed to acquire goods or services; or (v) any goods or services have sponsorship,
making a false or misleading representation concerning the price of any goods or services, the availability of
facilities for the repair or any goods or of spare parts for goods, the place of origin of any goods, the need
for any goods or services, or the existence, exclusion or effect of any condition, warranty, guarantee, right
or remedy.
Display of disclaimers (section 48): displaying any sign or notice that purports to disclaim any liability or deny
any right that a consumer has under the Act or any other written law.
Supply of defective and unsuitable goods and services (section 49): supplying a consumer with goods that
indicated to the person or the enterprise.
Product labelling (section 50): a product that is sold in Zambia should have a label to clearly indicate the
product name, the ingredients used in the product, the date of manufacture and expiry of the product,
the manufacturer’s name, the physical location of the manufacturer, the telephone number and any other
contact details of the manufacturer, and a person or an enterprise should not sell any goods to consumers
unless the goods conform to the mandatory consumer product information standard for the class of goods
set by the Zambia Bureau of Standards or other relevant competent body.
Price display (section 51): a person or an enterprise should not charge a consumer more than the price
indicated or displayed on a product or service.
ZAMBIA