December 02, 2008	Tuesday	Zilhaj 3, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: The Supreme Court granted to the Competition Commission of Pakistan on Monday leave to appeal against Islamabad High Court’s rejection of its decision of holding mills responsible for hoarding and creating an artificial hike in sugar price in 2005 by acting as a cartel.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Ijaz-ul-Hassan adjourned to January 20 hearing of the case moved by the CCP against Hunza Sugar Mills, Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills, Ashraf Sugar Mills, Tandlianwala Sugar Mills, Thal Industries Corporation (Layyah Sugar Mills), Pattoki Sugar Mills and Yousaf Sugar Mills.

The CCP, formerly the Monopoly Control Authority (MCA), had issued show-cause notices to several sugar mills under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (Control and Prevention) Ordinance, 1970, for their alleged involvement in the sugar price hike in 2005.

The commission had acted on information provided by some mills and on the basis of a market survey, economic survey and some reports of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association.

Senior counsel M. Bilal, along with Advocate on Record M. A. Sheikh, argued the CCP case by stating that according to the market survey, the price of sugar which was Rs19 to 20 per kg by the end of December 2004, skyrocketed to Rs24.50 in January 2005, to Rs27.50 in March and to Rs28 in April 2005.

After a proper hearing, the MCA on Sept 21, 2005, ordered the manufacturers not to resort to hoarding in future to create artificial shortages of sugar.

The sugar mills of Sindh and the NWFP complied with the orders but 16 mills from Punjab filed appeals against MCA orders before the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court.

Ten of the cases were decided by the Islamabad High Court in July 2008 by setting aside the decision of the MCA.

The MCA inquiry revealed that the quantity of sugar produced during 2004-05 with carryover stock brought forward from last year by the mills and the stock with the Trading Corporation of Pakistan were sufficient to meet the local consumption of 3.7 million tons. But the mills managed to hold stock in earlier months of 2004-05 and created an artificial shortage to raise prices.