The Competition Commission of South Africa (“the Commission”) is conducting a review of regulations that may act as barriers to competition and the entry or expansion of firms, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), across all markets in South Africa.
The Commission is seeking to identify and assess regulations (including sector policies and licensing frameworks) that may restrict entry or expansion of firms (particularly SME’s) in the market and to consider whether they are necessary to achieve their stated purpose or are overly restrictive in design or application. The review will also consider whether current regulatory frameworks adequately address market concentration, the effects of vertical integration on non-integrated firms, potential exclusionary practices, and meaningful participation by historically disadvantaged persons. Examples of regulatory barriers given by the Commission include:
administrative barriers, such as complex, lengthy or uncoordinated authorisation and licensing processes that delay entry or expansion;
rules that create or entrench monopoly supply, or an artificially limited number of suppliers, through exclusive rights, long-term contracts, or restrictive licensing;
licence and permit conditions that unduly limit who may operate in a market, including onerous, costly or time-consuming requirements or unnecessary caps on licence holders;
unreasonable or unnecessary standards or licensing requirements for operating, registering, constructing or meeting compliance obligations in order to serve a market;
restrictions that limit competition on price or non-price factors (for example, constraints on pricing, location, quality or marketing); and
requirements that may be reasonable in principle but are poorly implemented, leading to extensive delays, inconsistent interpretation, administrative backlogs or unpredictable outcomes.
The Commission has invited FASA to make a submission to assist in identifying those regulations seen as barriers to competition and market participation. In our effort to represent the franchise industry as broadly as possible, we are reaching out to you, as a stakeholder in the industry, to assist in bringing to the attention of the Commission any regulations and administrative procedures that you (and, if you are a franchisor, your franchisees) have encountered and which have presented barriers to entry or expansion in the market.
If you would like FASA to bring any such issues to the attention of the Commission, please let us have the following details –
a brief description of the products or services offered by you, or, where applicable, your franchisees;
details of any regulation/s or administrative requirements that, in your experience, pose barriers to competition, entry or expansion in the market;
a description of how the regulation(s) affect(s) competition, entry or expansion, including practical experience of compliance and the challenges thereto;
any amendments or reforms you would like to see, which would simplify or amend the regulations and the burdens of compliance.
FASA is required to provide its submission to the Commission by no later than 5 June 2026 so we would request that you let us have any information you would like included by no later than 12h00 on Friday, 29 June 2026.
Please send your submission to FASA to