NEW Caledonia’s Congress has adopted a bill on competition measures aimed at curbing abusive business practices, including excessive pricing and late payments. The text was passed on Tuesday with 34 votes in favour and 6 abstentions.
The legislation explicitly makes excessive prices or profit margins punishable as an abuse of a dominant position. It also introduces stricter controls on business mergers and acquisitions. Another key provision authorizes deferred discounts between producers and distributors—previously banned—in hopes of lowering consumer prices in an already high-cost environment.
Payment deadlines between professionals, now set at 30 days from receipt of goods, will henceforth begin upon invoice issuance. A fixed compensation for late payment, to be set by government decree, has also been created.
However, the government withdrew 10 articles that would have expanded the powers of New Caledonia’s Competition Authority (ACNC). The official reason is to allow for a thorough review of the ACNC’s performance ahead of its tenth anniversary. But the move follows heavy lobbying from employers’ group FEINC, which has accused the ACNC of excessive overreach and even called for its closure.
The pro-independence UNI group abstained from the vote. Elected member Wali Wahetra argued the deletions undermine the authority’s independence, noting the ACNC had previously uncovered irregularities in public health funds and fairground agreements. Government member Christopher Gyges, who presented the text, said the withdrawn measures would be revisited after a proper evaluation of the authority’s work.
Source: Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes
