A delay in reforming the Competition Office in line with recommendations by the Constitutional Court has led to a situation where companies which break competition rules are not being fined.
In May, the Constitutional Court declared that the Director for Competition could not decide cases over alleged breaches and impose sanctions, because only a court could guarantee a fair hearing.
The issue was brought to the fore last week when the Competition Office found that a fuel supplier broke competition rules when he pressured a petrol station owner to reverse a decision to reduce diesel prices. Despite the decision, no penalty was imposed.
Asked to clarify the situation, a Consumer Affairs Ministry spokesman said preparations are being made to change the law, and the Opposition is being consulted since a constitutional amendment is needed.
The spokesman said that according to legal advice given to the ministry, the competition watchdog “will not be able to enforce decisions retroactively” once the changes to the law are made. He would not give any time frames with regard to the introduction of the changes demanded by the Constitutional Court.
PN spokesman Clyde Puli confirmed that the proposed amendments were forwarded to the Opposition last month. He noted that the alarm bells had been sounding since April 2015, when the court ruled that the legislative framework was unconstitutional. Despite this, no plan B was prepared by the government.
He pointed out that, even after last May’s judgment, the minister said in Parliament the watchdog could still perform its function without any problems.
He noted that the government’s proposals to amend the Constitution required careful scrutiny.
A European Commission spokesman said the Commission was monitoring the serious situation developing in Malta, as it impacted the internal market, one of the fundamental EU pillars.
The Consumers’ Association in Malta warned that the situation resulting from the fuel prices ruling had rendered the watchdog toothless.
It complained that no interim measures had been taken by the Competition Office to ensure that the petrol station would not have to revoke the price reductions.
It also criticised the watchdog for limiting its investigation solely to this case.
“We believe such anti-competitive arrangement between suppliers and fuel stations is not an exception, but the Office did not heed our call to widen its investigation,” the association said.