The Competition and Tariff Commission (Commission) is a statutory body established under the Competition Act [Chapter 14:28]. The present Commission is a product of the merger in 2001 of the former Industry and Trade Competition Commission (ITCC) and Tariff Commission (TC). The ITCC had been established under the Competition Act, 1996 (No.7 of 1996) as a competition regulatory authority, while the TC had been established under the Tariff Commission Act [ Chapter 14:29] as a trade tariffs advisory authority. Both the ITCC and TC had commenced operations in 1998. The merger of the ITCC and TC was provided for under the Competition Amendment Act, 2001 (No.29 of 2001), which also repealed the Tariff Commission Act [Chapter 14:29].

The Commission therefore has the twin mandates of implementing  Zimbabwe’s competition policy and execution of the country’s trade tariffs policy, with the primary objective of enforcing the Competition Act [Chapter 14:28]

Box 1: Statutory Functions of the Commission

The statutory functions of the Commission in terms of section 5 of the Competition Act [Chapter 14:28] are:

1. to encourage and promote competition in all sectors of the economy;
2. to reduce barriers to entry into any sector of the economy or to any form of economic activity;
3. to investigate, discourage and prevent restrictive practices;
4. to study trends towards increased economic concentration, with a view to the investigation of monopoly situations and the prevention of such situations, where they are contrary to the public interest;
5. to advise the Minister of Industry and Commerce in regard to all aspects of economic competition, including entrepreneurial activities carried on by institutions directly or indirectly controlled by the State, and the formulation, co-ordination, implementation and administration of Government policy in regard to economic competition;
6. to provide information to interested persons on current policy with regard to restrictive practices, acquisitions and monopoly situations, to serve as guidelines for the benefit of those persons;
7. to undertake investigations and make reports to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Enterprise Development relating to tariff charges, unfair trade practices and the provision of assistance or protection to local industry;
8. to monitor prices, costs and profits in any industry or business that the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Enterprise Development directs the Commission to monitor, and to report its findings to the Minister; and
9. to perform any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on the Commission by the Act or any other enactment.

2. Mission Statement

Vision : “A Zimbabwe with fair markets, vibrant industry and enhanced consumer welfare by 2030”

Mission : "To promote and maintain competition and fair trade in all sectors of the economy of Zimbabwe”

Values :

• Professionalism

• Integrity

• Transparency

• Innovation

• Timeliness

• Teamwork