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Fiji’s Consumer Council says a report that details major discrepancies in trading practices by hardware companies is a great victory for the country’s consumers.
Council chief executive officer Premila Kumar said the report by the Commerce Commission verifies the council’s concerns that for too long, there have been exorbitant prices and unfair practices in the hardware industry.
Kumar said the report concurs with the council’s own findings of anti-competitive behaviour and unfair practices in the sector.
The report found that hardware companies have been marking up retail prices by as much as 34,000 percent.
Other key findings are evidence of price-setting between hardware companies, issues of violation of accounting practices by company accountants as well as audit firms, profit shifting to off-shore parent companies and the importation of sub-standard hardware products.
Kumar said the council had always maintained that there was lack of competition in the hardware sector and Commerce Commission’s report proves that anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing and transfer pricing exists in the industry.
“If most hardware companies have “buying houses” abroad and
Fiji companies buy their stock from their own foreign-based subsidiaries or “buying houses” then it is expected that Fiji consumers have to pay exorbitant prices,” she said.
“These buying houses in fact act as “middleman” and consumers are actually paying for higher prices despite the hardware dealer and it’s so called buying house being under the same ownership. Hardware companies engaging in such practices are not only unfair to consumers but also are deceptive against tax authorities by concealing actual revenue generation.”
Kumar said she hoped that action will be taken by the relevant authorities and enforcement agencies to bring fair play into the hardware market.
By Richard Naidu
