To the best of local counsel’s knowledge, thus far, no prohibited practices have been investigated nor have penalties been imposed in connection thereto. 

Local counsel are not aware of any cases brought by the Competition Regulatory Authority against parties in a vertical relationship for infringing the competition legislation, given the infancy of the Competition Regulatory Authority. 

The competition legal framework does not provide for specific clauses on exclusivity and/or non-compete restraints. However, under the general principle of contractual freedom – and save for certain sector-specific provisions stating otherwise – as a rule, parties to a contract are free to agree on exclusivity clauses and non-compete restraints, provided that this does not contravene public policy principles or amount to an abusive clause under the general laws in force. Thus, the specific contents of exclusivity clauses and non-compete restraints shall be assessed on a case-by-case basis. From a strict competition standpoint, exclusivity clauses and non-compete restraints could be subject to assessment and/or control by the Competition Regulatory Authority in a scenario where they encompass, trigger or result in prohibited practices under the scope of the competition legal framework.

Local counsel are not aware of any investigations launched and publicised against any entities for engaging in prohibited practices since the Competition Regulatory Authority became operational in January 2021. 

The competition legal framework does not contain specific provisions relating to the abuse of buyer power. That being said, there are certain general rules on economic dependency that are provided for therein. 

Neither the competition legal framework, nor the Criminal Code expressly criminalises cartel conduct or anticompetitive conducts. Under the competition legal framework, these practices are deemed administrative offenses, subject to the payment of fines. However, one must stress that criminal liability may arise where the relevant anticompetitive conduct encompasses any action or omission which may be deemed a crime under the Mozambican Criminal Code and/or any other ancillary legislation – such as fraud, embezzlement, and abusive conduct, for example. Hence, even though the law does not expressly provide for specific types of crimes expressly related to anticompetitive conducts, the actual conduct or practice may entail certain actions or omissions that are criminalised. This needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.