DRC Law and Practice Contributed by: Serge Nawej Tshitembu, Xavier Huberland, Daniel Yamba and Katerina Papachristou, ProximA International
Strategic Guidance In cross-border transactions involving DRC operations, parties should undertake a threefold assessment: • corporate structuring compliance under OHADA; • merger notification and clearance under DRC national competition law; and • regional merger review obligations under COMESA, where thresholds are met. Early legal mapping and regulatory engagement with both the Competition Commission and the CCC is highly recommended, particularly in sensitive or concentrated sectors. Failure to comply with any of these layers may result in transactional delays, regulatory intervention or legal invalidity. 6.3 Cartels Congolese competition law prohibits anti-com - petitive agreements that have as their object or effect the restriction, distortion or prevention of effective market competition. This includes both horizontal and vertical agreements, regardless of whether they are formal or informal. Prohibited conduct includes: • co-ordinated actions that restrict access to the market by other operators; • market or customer allocation between com - petitors; • agreements or arrangements aimed at fixing or artificially influencing prices; • practices designed to limit production, invest - ment or innovation; and • collusive behaviours that affect the outcome of public procurement processes, including the disguised participation of affiliated enti - ties.
These restrictions apply to written or verbal agreements, concerted practices and coalitions, whether express or tacit. The legislation follows a broad effects-based approach and does not require a formal contract to establish the exist - ence of an anti-competitive arrangement. However, the effective enforcement of these prohibitions remains limited, due to the delayed operationalisation of the Competition Commis - sion and the absence of implementing regula - tions specifying procedural aspects and inves - tigation powers. As a result, private actors rarely face enforcement actions in practice, and com - pliance obligations are often managed internally without external review. At the regional level, the DRC is also bound by the COMESA Competition Regulations (2004), which prohibit agreements that appreciably restrict trade or competition between member states. The CCC has investigative and sanc - tioning powers across borders, and its author - ity applies even in the absence of enforcement by national regulators. Parties to cross-border agreements operating in at least two COMESA jurisdictions may be subject to direct scrutiny from the CCC, including dawn raids, document requests and financial penalties. In parallel, the DRC is a member of the SADC bloc, which has adopted a non-binding Declara - tion on Regional Cooperation in Competition and Consumer Policies, encouraging information- sharing and soft law convergence among mem - ber states. Although SADC does not yet have a supranational competition authority, develop - ments in countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Namibia influence the evolving compliance landscape for groups active across the region.
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