Tunisia’s Commerce Ministry to Refer 15 New Cases to Competition Council by End of 2026
The Tunisian Ministry of Commerce plans to refer 15 new cases to the Competition Council before the end of 2026. These cases primarily involve suspicions of collusion in public procurement markets, as well as potential abuses of dominant positions in certain economic sectors.
Parliamentary Announcement
On November 5, Commerce Minister Samir Abid announced these plans before the parliamentary committees on Industry and Commerce. The Minister also reported that his department had already referred five cases to the Council, while 11 other cases are currently being handled by the Council following complaints from businesses or procedures initiated at the Council’s own discretion.
Scope of Reported Cases
The reported cases notably concern:
- Public tenders launched by governorates and municipalities for the acquisition of equipment and software applications
- Purchases of food products
- Building maintenance and upkeep services
- Cleaning services
Confirmation from Competition Council
A rapporteur from the Competition Council confirmed the receipt of requests from the Ministry, in accordance with Article 15 of the law on the reorganization of competition and prices. The rapporteur specified that the reported practices mainly involve:
- Suspected collusion between bidders
- Abnormally low pricing in bids
Additional cases concern potential abuses of dominant positions in the agri-food sector and large-scale retail distribution.
Legal Context and Penalties
The rapporteur emphasized that, at this stage, these constitute indicators of anti-competitive practices rather than established violations. He also highlighted the importance of competitive monitoring in detecting such practices, particularly through the tracking of public tenders, pricing, and operator behavior.
Under Article 43 of the same law, established violations can result in fines of up to 10% of the turnover of the companies involved. The Minister further noted that enforcement procedures have been initiated for six Council decisions, with cumulative fines amounting to 3.9 million Tunisian dinars.
