From today, the Domestic Electrical Goods Order – which banned the use of RRPs on some categories of electrical goods - is no more.

The Competition Commission (CC) confirmed that it has decided to lift the order, effective from today.

The order was originally introduced by then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Margaret Beckett in 1998. It not only banned the use of RRPs for, among others, TVs and washing machines, but also prevented suppliers from withholding goods from retailers they thought damaged the good name of their brands.

The CC said of its final decision today that a number of changes since the order was introduced have significantly increased competition in the market and removed the need for the safeguards the order provided.

The CC added that it also considered that the Competition Act 1998 now provided an effective mechanism to address attempts to fix prices or restrict supplies unfairly.

The move follows a “provisional decision” made by the CC just before Christmas, itself a response to a recommendation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) last summer for the CC to dump the order.

Since then the CC has been consulting on the proposal.