Power and gas company Sumo has been ordered to pay a $10 million penalty for engaging in prohibited ‘door-to-door’ phone sales, the largest penalty for breaches of Victoria’s energy laws.
The competition regulator will not appeal a tribunal ruling that set aside its decision to block the $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp, but promised it will continue to scrutinise the banking industry.
The ACCC’s rejection of a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp was hardly surprising given the concentrated nature of the home loans market, but the competition regulator faced an uphill battle in having the decision upheld, an expert says.
The ACCC’s decision to block a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp has been set aside, with a tribunal finding the transaction will not substantially lessen competition in the home loans market or for agribusiness and SME clients in Queensland.
ANZ has criticised the ACCC’s objection to its planned $4.9 billion merger with Suncorp, arguing before a tribunal that the alleged “uncertain” effects on competition in banking was not a sufficient reason to block the deal.
A battle with the competition regulator over the proposed ANZ, Suncorp tie-up has begun, with the first clash involving a group of rival lenders that want their submissions to the ACCC kept under lock and key.
Notional GST payments by local councils under an intergovernmental agreement with the Commonwealth are a voluntary act, not an impermissible tax in breach of the Constitution, the High Court has ruled.
The ACCC has secured a misuse of market power declaration against Tasmanian government-owned TasPorts in the regulator’s first action under amended competition laws, but the ports company will not pay a penalty as part of an agreement to resolve the case.
Online retailer Kogan has been hit with a $350,000 penalty for misleading customers during its 2018 TAXTIME promotion by offering discounts on products whose prices had been inflated, far short of the $2 million penalty sought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is seeking $2 million in penalties against Kogan, after a judge found statements the online retailer made during a 2018 promotion were misleading and drew consumers into the company’s “marketing web”.