The competition Commission’s timetable for reporting on its inquiry into the grocery market is slipping.

Notification of provisional findings was due last month, and notification and consideration of possible remedies were due between this month and last. A spokesman for the inquiry at the commission admitted delays to freshinfo. “The timetable for provisional findings now says October,” he said. “We are hoping to get them out this month, but it will be late in the month.”

The last working paper was sent out in August, and since then “we have been revving up for publication of the findings”, said the spokesman.

Meanwhile, speculation in the press suggests that the regulator could be looking to “crack down on bully-boy tactics from Britain’s biggest supermarkets”. The Sunday Times suggested this week that the commission will raise the prospect of a ban on retrospective payments, as well as serious concerns about lump-sum payments to secure shelf space.

The newspaper also reported that supermarkets are likely to be called upon to give their suppliers greater certainty, by offering them more fixed contracts.

Other sources quoted by the paper said that it will also look to strengthen the voluntary code of conduct that applies so far only to the big four: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

A spokeswoman for Morrisons told freshinfo: “Our policy is to be fair and honest, being accessible and straightforward in our dealings; and to always deliver what we promise. We would not speculate about competitor issues, and any agreement that we have with a supplier is commercially sensitive.”

Asda told freshinfo that respect was at the heart of its supplier relationships. “Treating suppliers fairly while ensuring we always get the best deal for our customers is at the heart of how we do business,” said a spokesman. “Respect for the individual is also one of our core values, and should apply to how our people treat each other and the suppliers they work with. Any suggestion that this is not the case would be investigated immediately and put right.”

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