Interim Internal Purchasing Guidelines > 1 Authority, Responsibility and Policy > 1.7 Anticompetitive Practices

1.7 Anticompetitive Practices

1.7.1 General

An anticompetitive practice is any practice designed to eliminate competition or restrain trade. Such practices include collusion, follow-the-leader pricing, rotated low price proposals, sharing of business, identical prices, and any other device intended to deprive the Postal Service of the benefits of competition. These practices may violate federal antitrust laws and be subject to prosecution by the Attorney General. Proposals suspected of reflecting anticompetitive practices may be rejected.

1.7.2 Reports

Any suspected anticompetitive practice must be reported promptly through normal management channels to the VP, SM (or the VP, Facilities, if the matter involves real estate). Identical prices are not reported automatically, but only if there is reason to suspect an anticompetitive practice. If the VP believes that there is reasonable evidence of violation of federal antitrust laws, the report must be forwarded to the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The OIG will refer the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution, if appropriate.