Proposed Increase To Namibian Merger Notification Thresholds, Merger Filing Fees And Administrative Fees

On 13 August 2026, the Namibia Competition Commission (“NaCC”) hosted a stakeholder engagement titled “Merger Notification Thresholds & Filing Fees” at the Ministry of Industries Mines and Energy. The engagement is a welcome development, as the merger-notification thresholds were last amended in 2015 and the filing fees were last revised in 2017.

Merger notification thresholds and merger filing fees

The table below summarises the current and proposed merger notification thresholds, merger filing-fee structure and administrative fees. The NaCC proposes to double both the combined and target thresholds and to replace the existing seven-tier fee structure with a simplified three-tier structure.

In addition to revising and increasing the merger thresholds and merger filing fees, the NaCC has also proposed a supplementary test or discretionary review which will operate alongside the revised thresholds. This together with the retention of the NaCC’s discretionary powers, would enable the NaCC to capture and possibly investigate transactions that fall below the revised merger thresholds, but which may impact competition or raise public-interest concerns.

Administrative fees

The NaCC also proposes increases to the administrative fees set out below.

In summary, the NaCC’s key recommendations are as follows:

• Adjust merger notification thresholds having regard to inflation and increase the combined threshold to NAD60 million and the target threshold to NAD30 million.
• Implement a supplementary test / discretionary review powers in respect of transactions falling outside the revised merger notification thresholds but which may still have an impact on competition or raise public-interest concerns.
• Adopt a simplified three-tier filing fee structure of NAD90,000 (for small mergers), NAD350,000 (for intermediate mergers) and NAD650,000 (for large mergers).
• Introduce a periodic (likely every 5 years) review mechanism of the merger notification thresholds and filing fees, embedded in the NaCC’s corporate strategy, to ensure continued alignment with prevailing economic conditions.
• Conduct regular stakeholder consultation to promote transparency, regulatory certainty and effective implementation.

At this stage, the proposals outlined above are recommendations only and are thus not yet in force, and whilst the NaCC has indicated that all stakeholders have until 27 August 2026 (two weeks from the date of today’s engagement) to , input or further recommendations to the NaCC, no clear indication has been provided by the NaCC as to how long the current stakeholder engagement process is going to take or when the final merger notification thresholds and filing fees will be gazetted and thus come into force. Accordingly, these recommendations remain subject to further stakeholder engagements, board consideration by the NaCC’s board and Ministerial approval before they can take effect.

The immediate takeaway is that the recommendations by the NaCC seek to focus the NaCC’s resources on mergers that may have a genuine impact on competition, while reducing the administrative burden for the merging parties and the NaCC. The NaCC’s recommendations also seek to ensure that the merger notification thresholds and merger filing fees take into account the current state of the economy and to hopefully not disincentivise further investment in Namibia.

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