ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has recovered Rs495 million in partial penalties from Long Distance International (LDI) operators in the long-running International Clearing House (ICH) case, following the tribunal’s endorsement of the CCP’s original decision.

The recovery includes Rs458m from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) and Rs37m from M/s Link Dot Net.

The Competition Appellate Tribunal recently upheld CCP’s findings, which declared the ICH arrangement anti-competitive and unlawful. The ICH, introduced in 2012, routed all incoming international calls through a single PTCL-controlled gateway, eliminating market competition.

Under the ICH framework, call termination rates were fixed at 8.8 cents per minute — more than four times the previous rate — inflating costs for overseas callers while enabling operators to pocket revenue increases of over 300pc. The CCP had originally imposed penalties amounting to 7.5pc of each operator’s annual turnover.

While the tribunal later reduced the fines to 2pc of revenues generated from the ICH arrangement, it ordered all operators to deposit the penalties within 30 days of the ruling.

CCP Chairman Dr Kabir Sidhu reiterated the Commission’s commitment to enforcing competition law, warning businesses against collusion, price-fixing, and abuse of market dominance.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2025