The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition has published amendments to the merger notification thresholds and merger filing fees under the Competition Act, with effect from 1 May 2026. The revised thresholds significantly increase the financial thresholds applicable to intermediate and large mergers. Intermediate Mergers: The combined annual turnover or assets of the acquiring firm and transferred firm has increased from R600 million to R1 billion while the annual turnov

On 30 April 2026, Edward Kieswetter steps down after seven years as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service. The headline numbers are telling: R2 trillion collected in the 2025/26 financial year, R11.8 trillion across his tenure, public trust in SARS lifted from 48% to 75%, and service levels above 90%. Reducing his legacy to a ledger, however, misses the point. The more important story — and the one South Africa most needs to absorb — is how he did it, and what tha

20 April 2026. There is a tendency to think of competition enforcement as the domain of large listed firms and dominant players. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa's recent decision in the Elliott Mobility matter is a useful reminder that smaller firms in smaller industries must also be wary. The Tribunal has found that Elliott engaged in cover quoting in seven instances — six with JH Retief and one with Cape Express Removals. Of the 23 instances referred by the Commis

The war in the Middle East has caused global oil prices to surge above $100 per barrel in the past two weeks. While a higher oil price is expected to raise the costs of fuel in South Africa, as well as products and services that use fuel, there is a distinct risk that unscrupulous businesses will exploit the sudden surge and uncertainty in fuel prices by engaging in price gouging, namely, increasing prices beyond what is warranted by the fuel cost increases. This risk is prev

For our March Espresso Briefs, we are pleased to be joined by one of the most respected voices in South African media: Tim Cohen . If you have followed South African business over the last few decades, you have followed Tim. As the former editor of Business Day , Financial Mail SA and editor at large for Daily Maverick , Tim is currently a Senior Editor for Currency and joins our MD Anthony Norton for an hour where they will move past the headlines to discuss “Soluti

Our recent interview with David Lewis, National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council member, and Nortons Inc. MD Anthony Norton and Director Michelle Rawlinson is mentioned today on Moneyweb in a must-read article written by Amanda Visser . Read it here .

Our first ESPRESSO BRIEFS was a not-to-be missed interview with David Lewis, author, activist and a giant of South African governance. Fortunately if you did, you can catch it on our YouTube channel here: youtube.com/watch?si=r3AiL9tC5vAXkTMl&v=yCXQ2nZ1_N4&feature=youtu.be

Nortons represented the Hospital Association of South Africa (HASA) in obtaining a significant order by consent, effectively placing the National Health Insurance Act (NHI Act) on hold until the Constitutional Court hands down judgment in two “public participation challenges”, instituted by the Premier of the Western Cape and Board of Healthcare Funders. The Court approved a comprehensive order in terms of which the President and the Minister of Health have formally undert

We are pleased to announce that we have secured two significant Court outcomes for our clients during the course of the past week. First, Nortons Incorporated assisted PPC Limited (PPC) in successfully reviewing a decision by the Competition Tribunal of South Africa granting interim relief in favour of a buying group, EST. The Competition Appeal Court reviewed this decision and set it aside and granted costs in PPC’s favour. EST sought leave from the Constitutional Court