ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) issued 12 major orders in FY25, imposing penalties exceeding Rs1 billion on businesses found guilty of anti-competitive conduct across key sectors, including fertilisers, poultry, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, real estate, food, hygiene products, paints, and education.

The CCP has significantly ramped up enforcement by fast-tracking hearings and curbing procedural delays, enabling quicker case resolution and stronger implementation of competition laws.

Of the 12 decisions issued, eight pertained to deceptive marketing, while three involved cartelisation and price-fixing. One order was issued on the direction of the Lahore High Court, addressing jurisdiction under Section 10(2) of the Competition Act in a case involving trademark misuse.

In a landmark decision, the CCP fined six urea manufacturers and their trade association — the Fertiliser Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) — a total of Rs375 million for engaging in price-fixing. Each manufacturer was fined Rs50m, while the association received a Rs75m penalty.

Fertilisers, poultry, pharma and real estate firms face heavy penalties

Another significant case involved eight poultry hatcheries, which were fined a cumulative Rs155m for colluding to fix prices of day-old broiler chicks.

Among deceptive marketing cases, Kingdom Valley was fined Rs150m for making false claims about its housing project. Unilever Pakistan and FrieslandCampina Engro were fined Rs75m each for marketing frozen desserts as “ice cream” in violation of product labelling regulations. Unilever faced an additional Rs60m penalty for misleading advertisements related to Lifebuoy products.

Al-Ghazi Tractors was penalised Rs40m for making unsubstantiated fuel efficiency claims, while Hyundai Nishat Motors received a Rs25m fine for misleading promotional content concerning the Hyundai Tucson SUV.

In the pharmaceutical sector, 3N Lifemed Pharmaceuticals was fined Rs20m for using fake certification in the promotion of dialysis machines. However, this fine was later reduced to Rs2m by the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT). British Lyceum School and Diamond Paints were each fined Rs5m for publishing misleading advertisements.

“Cartelisation is a serious offence and will not be tolerated,” said CCP Chairman Dr Kabir Sidhu. “Cartels harm economic growth, violate consumer rights, and deter new investment,” he added. Dr Sidhu further cautioned trade associations against facilitating collusive practices, stressing that such platforms must not be misused to distort markets or exploit consumers.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025