\u201cThe Guidelines promote greater choice for consumers about where and how their products are repaired or serviced and seek to protect customers against anti-competitive business practices,\u201d the Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the Guidelines, some anti-competitive business practices include refusing to sell spare parts to independent technicians or supplying them on unfair or discriminatory terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also considered an anti-competitive practice to enter into exclusive contracts with component suppliers, thereby preventing independent shops from buying parts directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other anti-competitive practices include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Requiring technicians to use special, manufacturer-branded diagnostic tools or connectors when standard, widely available tools could safely do the same job is considered anti-competitive behaviour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Using software locks that stop a replacement part from working unless the manufacturer remotely activates or pairs it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Displaying warning pop-ups on a device screen after an independent repair to discourage or scare consumers is an anti-competitive tactic and should be discouraged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The Commission explained that encouraging independent repair markets helps small repair businesses grow and expands the market for refurbished products while keeping them functional for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Guidelines provide insight into certain business practices that can harm competition, including blocking access to spare parts, repair information, or diagnostic tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Guidelines were published under Section 79 of the Competition Act No. 89 of 1998, as amended, following public consultations with businesses and stakeholders across various sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No new rules beyond what is already established in the law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-2026-10-06T125652.214-1024x576.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Guidelines provided by the Commission do not add any new rules that aren’t already found in the existing law (the Act). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, the Commission is urging manufacturers (OEMs) and related companies to carefully examine these Guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These groups should ensure that their practices for repairing, servicing, and maintaining products after they have been sold do not restrict competition in the market or negatively affect consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The focus is on promoting fair practices that benefit both businesses and consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Commission said that service providers should inform it when OEMs take part in anti-competitive conduct, limit their ability to provide services, or engage in the types of conduct outlined in the Guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It explained that when it becomes too expensive to switch to another brand, or when only the original manufacturer holds the spare parts, repair manual or tools, consumers can feel stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This leaves buyers with fewer choices and prevents independent technicians from offering competing, affordable services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Guidelines mainly apply when a consumer needs to pay for the repair out of pocket because it is not covered by a standard or statutory warranty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These rules apply to any specific damage or fix that the warranty excludes, even if the product is still within its warranty period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Commission said that every complaint regarding repair restrictions will be evaluated individually based on its own specific facts and evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will also check whether a manufacturer\u2019s restriction breaches key sections (sections 5, 8, or 9) of the Competition Act. Under the new Guidelines, the restrictions are not automatically considered illegal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manufacturers may justify their policies if they are genuinely necessary to protect consumer safety, safeguard intellectual property, improve technology or efficiency, or comply with other legal requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Commission said that the practices mentioned in the Guidelines are examples only, and that it may investigate other conduct and take action where necessary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Competition Commission has published its final Guidelines on Repair, Service and Maintenance Aftermarkets, with no new rules beyond what has already been established in existing law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":847924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2107448549986193733","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2228279751325757","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18097701095636854","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1516,26722],"class_list":["post-878472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-competition-commission","tag-guidelines-on-repair"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878472"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878541,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878472\/revisions\/878541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Displaying warning pop-ups on a device screen after an independent repair to discourage or scare consumers is an anti-competitive tactic and should be discouraged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Using software locks that stop a replacement part from working unless the manufacturer remotely activates or pairs it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-2026-10-06T125652.214.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n