Johannesburg, April 11 (DPA) Mittal South Africa, a subsidiary of Arcelor Mittal steel group, the world’s largest steel producer, said Wednesday it would appeal a ruling by the Competition Tribunal that it had charged “excessive prices” in South Africa.
The Tribunal, in a landmark ruling last month, found Mittal Steel SA, which is 52 percent owned by Arcelor Mittal, guilty of contravening the Competition Act by “charging an excessive price for its flat steel products to the detriment of consumers.”
The Tribunal is yet to decide on a penalty or remedy.
Mittal Steel announced the appeal after a meeting with the Tribunal to discuss evidence in mitigation of a possible administrative fine.
The complaint for excessive pricing was brought by gold mining companies Harmony Gold and DRDGOLD in 2004, who complained Mittal abused its dominant position in the market to overcharge.
Shortly after the ruling, Mittal announced it would further raise prices by between 2 and 10 percent on a number of products citing higher input costs.
The Competition Tribunal said it would consider structural remedies to prevent Mittal from implementing excessive prices in future.
