The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) imposed penalties of over Rs. 1 billion on businesses involved in anti-competitive practices across key sectors.
The CCP issued 12 major orders during FY2024-25, imposing penalties worth Rs. 1.007 billion on businesses involved in anti-competitive practices across key sectors, including fertilizers, poultry, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, real estate, food, hygiene products, paints, and education.
The Commission has strengthened its enforcement arm and streamlined hearings by curbing unnecessary delays. This fast-track approach is helping CCP resolve cases swiftly and enforce the law more effectively.
Out of the 12 orders issued, eight were related to deceptive marketing. Three orders involved cartelization and price fixing. One order was issued on the direction of the Lahore High Court to address the issue of CCP’s jurisdiction in a case involving the deceptive and fraudulent use of a trademark under Section 10(2) of the Competition Act.
In a landmark case, CCP fined six urea manufacturers and their trade group—Fertilizer Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC)—a total of Rs. 375 million for price-fixing. Each company was fined Rs. 50 million; the association was fined Rs. 75 million.
Another major penalty of Rs. 155 million was slapped on eight poultry hatcheries for fixing prices of day-old broiler chicks. In deceptive marketing cases, Kingdom Valley was fined Rs. 150 million for false claims about its housing project. Unilever and Friesland Campina Engro were fined Rs. 75 million each for marketing frozen desserts as ice cream. Unilever also faced an additional Rs. 60 million penalty for deceptive ads for Lifebuoy products.
Al-Ghazi Tractors was fined Rs. 40 million for false fuel efficiency claims. Hyundai Nishat Motors received a Rs. 25 million fine for misleading ads about the Hyundai Tucson SUV.
3N Lifemed Pharmaceuticals was fined Rs. 20 million for using fake certification for dialysis machines. The fine was later reduced to Rs. 2 million by the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT). British Lyceum and Diamond Paints were fined Rs. 5 million each for publishing misleading advertisements.
“Cartelization is a serious offence and will not be tolerated,” warned CCP Chairman Dr. Kabir Sidhu. “Cartels harm economic growth, violate consumer rights, and deter new investment,” he said. He further emphasized that association platforms must not be used for price collusion or to facilitate market abuse, which leads to the exploitation of the entire nation.