Steel & Tube's fine under Fair Trading Act reduced on appeal

Steel and Tube has had its fine, imposed under the Fair Trading Act, reduced. Photo / File

Steel and Tube has had its fine for breaches of the Fair Trading Act reduced to $1.56m from $2m after a taking the matter to the Court of Appeal.

In October 2018 Steel and Tube was fined $1.885 million in the District Court for breaching the Fair Trading Act by making false and misleading representations about its mesh products, used in construction to provide strength and stability in the event of an earthquake.

In November of that year the Commission filed an appeal against that sentence on the basis that the judge erred.

The case went to the High Court in September this year, where fines of $2.009m were imposed on Steel and Tube.

The issue then went to the Court of Appeal, with the Commission claiming that an excessive discount to the penalty had been applied and that it did not adequately take into account the size of Steel and Tube and the potential for it to gain from the conduct.

In today's decision, the Court of Appeal said it was satisfied that the substituted fine imposed by the High Court was "manifestly excessive".

The court dismissed the appeal from the Commerce Commission and imposed fines totalling $1.56m on the Steel and Tube.

The charges, brought by the Commerce Commission, related to conduct spanning four years, where Steel & Tube sold about 480,000 sheets of steel mesh for $24m from 482 batches.

Steel & Tube misled the public with representations that the mesh met an Australia/New Zealand standard for reinforcing steel when it didn't, and that the batches had been independently tested when they had not.