New Zealand’s competition and consumer regulator is planning to grant technology company HP an exemption to continue setting the prices of its products when sold by a third-party distributor.

The current arrangement lets HPNZ import and supply HP products to sellers in the country, while also dictating the price. Ordinarily, this could be classified as Resale Price Maintenance (RPM), something which is illegal in the country.

But, in August 2021, the commission granted HPNZ a five-year term to set the prices after determining that it would not be likely to “cause any detriments”.

As the five-year term is up for review, the commission is proposing a 10-year renewal, subject to public feedback.

“We currently consider it is appropriate to authorise the conduct as the proposed arrangement is likely to have no real detriments and some small benefits,” said Commerce Commission chair Dr John Small.

“We provisionally accept that the RPM conduct affects only a very small proportion of sales. In light of this, the lack of detriments and the fact that the benefits are not overly large but still positive, we consider at this stage a 10-year term for this authorisation to be appropriate.”

The public has until July 23 to submit any feedback before a final decision is made.