Our Competition Statement

1. DON’T discuss the prices your company or its competitors will charge customers, profit margins, discount or trade rebate structures or levels, future pricing plans, or timings of price changes.
2. DON’T discuss individual company terms and conditions of sale or purchase, including terms of credit, cost calculation methods, payment guarantees etc.
3. DON’T discuss levels of production, sources of supply, specifications (except standards approved following legal advice), quantities or descriptions of goods, or processes of manufacture.
4. DON’T discuss areas in which new business will be done or the people with whom such business will be done.
5. DON’T discuss possible courses of action which members may wish to follow to recover costs as a result of raw material price increases.
6. DON’T engage in discussions with competitors to allocate or share customers or their purchasing volumes or to allocate markets or marketing areas, regardless of whether the allocation is by is by territory, by type of customer or otherwise.
7. DON’T discuss particular distribution or trading arrangements (for example parallel trading, grey market or diversion) other than those of a general nature that have an effect on the industry as a whole.
8. DON’T discuss administrative or disciplinary action by the company or its constituent committees/groups against a particular member in the absence of legal guidance.
9. DON’T engage in any discussion or activity which would produce an adverse economic impact on competing companies.
10. DO keep an agenda and minutes of all meetings and other joint activities in order to ensure there is a clear paper trail of what will be and what has been discussed.
11. DO leave the meeting if a competitor discloses sensitive, commercial information. In addition, expressly minute that you are distancing yourself/your company from this disclosure.
12. DO ensure your employees, particularly new employees, are given regular refreshers on the competition law rules.

Note: the above is for general guidance only and is not a comprehensive list of all activities and discussions which might be deemed in breach of the relevant competition law legislation.