Competition: Bombshell in the world of audit
The setting of a mandatory minimum rate by the Association of Chartered Accountants for legal and contractual audit assignments is «anti-competitive». The Competition Council sentenced them to a fine of 3 million Dirhams. Its investigation was launched in December 2021 on the subject of the standard budget-time and fees (See L’Economiste No 6155 of 14/12/2021).
The investigations led to a financial penalty that will not please the Association of Chartered Accountants. Its time-budget directive was seen as a price-fixing agreement in a market that is normally open to competition. The representatives of the Association of Chartered Accountants had been convened, on July 28, 2022, for a final session during which they insisted on the role of the profession as «a regulator as required by Law number 15- 89 to comply with national and international standards and practices». Despite the arguments of the Association of Chartered Accountants, the Competition Council imposed a fine on the profession for not having complied with the provisions of Article 6 of Law 104-12 on freedom of pricing and on competition. The Association of Chartered Accountants was informed of the sanction via a letter on Tuesday August 02, 2022 . The professional organization plans to «defend its position by deploying all necessary remedies».
Possible remedies
A meeting was also scheduled for Wednesday, August 03 to discuss the repercussions of the fine imposed by the Competition Council and possible remedies. The decision can be challenged at the level of the administrative court of Rabat. The chartered accountants, obviously accompanied by a lawyer, note «several irregularities in the handling of this case. Irregularities which have moreover been brought to the attention of the Head of Government and to the Minister of Finance», but which have not yet been made public. Obviously, the Association of Chartered Accountants and the Competition Council do not have the same opinions. The Association was determined to rely on Article 9 of Law 104-12 governing competition to motivate the legality of the tariff standard relating to audit assignments. Article 9 provides for exceptions to what is stated in Articles 6 and 7 provided that such exceptions are legally justified. This means that, in the event that these exceptions are provided for by a law or an implementing text, they would be legally based and could not be challenged. The Competition Council, however, has a completely different reading. It follows from the interpretation of Article 9 of Law 140-12 that the provisions resulting from the application of a law or a decree cannot be challenged on the basis of Article 6 which condemns «concerted actions, agreements, understandings or express or tacit coalitions tending to limit access to the market or the free exercise of competition, .. and obstruct the formation of prices by market forces.»
Hassan EL ARIF
