According to Newspoint, a group of three companies from South African Poultry has appealed South Africa's Competition Tribunal against the case raised by Country Bird Holdings Ltd (CBH) and Supreme Poultry on technical grounds.

The companies, including Astral Operations, Elite Breeding Farms and Ross Poultry, are of the view that the case made against them is different from the complaint originally brought to the commission by Country Bird and Supreme Poultry in June 2008.

Lawyers from the appealing companies claimed that the commission must limit its referral to the allegations submitted to it by the complainants. However, the commission is of the opinion that this would "unduly limit its powers to properly investigate alleged prohibited conduct". Even the commission claimed that the complainants had added substantive evidence in their original complaint before the commission referred it to the tribunal.

It is understood that whichever side loses may approach the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) against the tribunal's decision.

One person involved in the case added: "It has been years since the Competition Tribunal has actually had to listen to the merits of an anti-competition case."

Newspoint reports that, from the track record of the Competition Appeal Court (CAC), it is expected this would be another case in the long list challenging tribunal's decision.