By Kelly Baker

The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission (the “CCCC”) published its Schedule of Fees (the“Schedule”) and detailed procedures under the 2025 COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations (the “Regulations”). The publication marks a significant step in strengthening and clarifying the COMESA merger control regime. The Schedule issued pursuant to Regulation 10(1)(d) read together with Regulation 17(2) of the Regulations, sets out the fees payable for four categories of services: (i) expedited merger review, (ii) comfort letter requests, (iii) advisory opinions, and (iv) other services.  

The Schedule arrives on the heels of the landmark 2025 Regulations, which were adopted by the COMESA Council of Ministers on 4 December 2025 and which, among other things, introduced a suspensory merger control regime. Against that backdrop, the newly formalised fee structure provides important practical guidance for businesses and their advisors navigating the CCCC’s processes.

What Does It Cost?

The CCCC’s fee for an Expedited Merger Review is set at USD 120,000. Under the standard merger review timeline, the CCCC has 120 days from receipt of a complete notification to issue its decision. The expedited process, by contrast, is designed to deliver a decision within 45 days of notification, a significant acceleration for parties with time-sensitive transactions. Notably, the CCCC retains sole discretion to determine eligibility for expedition, and mergers that may raise any prospect of competition concerns are excluded from the process. Parties must request for an expedited merger review in their cover letter accompanying the merger notification form. For completeness, the request for an expedited merger review is only considered complete once payment of the fee is made in full.

Comfort letter requests and advisory opinions are subject to a fee of USD 10,000 each. A Comfort Letter is a mechanism by which an acquiring party may seek confirmation that a transaction does not meet the CCCC’s notification thresholds and is a particularly useful tool for parties uncertain about whether their deal triggers the COMESA filing requirements. Advisory Opinions, which are expressly non-binding under the 2025 Regulations, provide a further avenue for businesses to seek informal guidance on competition-related matters. Further, the catch-all “other services” category is priced at USD 5,000.

For both comfort letters and advisory opinions, the CCCC has a 45-day turnaround from receipt of a complete application, with the possibility of a 30-day extension in respect of Advisory Opinions where circumstances require.

Practical Implications

Michael-James Currie, a partner from Primerio notes: “The formalisation of a fee schedule, particularly the introduction of a priced expedited review mechanism, signals the CCCC’s intent to operate with greater institutional discipline and commercial awareness, and businesses engaging in cross-border M&A activity across the COMESA region should factor both the timelines and the associated costs into their deal planning from the outset. The introduction is of particular importance for merger parties given the new suspensory regime having come into effect.”

The Schedule is notably detailed in its procedural guidance. On the expedited merger review, the CCCC has made clear that fees are refundable only in limited circumstances – specifically, where the CCCC revokes a merger’s eligibility for the expedited process due to (i) parties’ non-responsiveness to additional information requests from the CCCC, (ii) new information coming to light subsequent to the CCCC’s approval for the expedited service; or (iii) unforeseen circumstances on the CCCC’s side hinder the CCCC from rendering the expedited service. Fees are not refundable for any other reason, placing the risk squarely on the notifying parties.

If the CCCC receives a request for a comfort letter that contains any material misstatement or omission of information or documentation, and subsequently issues a comfort letter on the basis of such misstatements or omissions, the CCCC reserves the right to revoke the comfort letter, and the parties may be exposed to the risk of a finding that they failed to notify a notifiable merger or are otherwise in contravention of the Regulations.

It is important to note that the above-mentioned fees are in addition to the prescribed fees in respect of merger notifications. In other words, should a notification be required and the merger parties opted for an expedite review of their transaction, the notification will cost the merger parties 0.1% of the combined turnover, or a cap of USD 300,000 plus the expedited fee of USD 120,000.

Looking Ahead

The release of the Schedule marks another step in the CCCC’s ongoing effort in developing its suspensory merger control regime. For practitioners and businesses operating in Eastern and Southern Africa, staying abreast of these developments is becoming increasingly important.

To access the schedule, see here Fee Schedule