By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s competition watchdog ramped up its fight against unfair business practices in the fiscal year 2024–25, launching 24 fresh probes into cartelization, abuse of dominance, and deceptive marketing across a broad swath of industries.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) initiated 11 inquiries targeting cartelization and 13 aimed at deceptive marketing practices, while concluding 14 investigations for adjudication.
Sectors in the crosshairs spanned e-commerce, telecom, aviation, steel, transport, edible oils, pharmaceuticals, construction, commodities, and education.
The CCP’s Cartel and Trade Abuse Department spearheaded the fight against market manipulation, kicking off 11 new inquiries into sectors like e-commerce, telecom, aviation, steel, transport, edible ghee, cooking oil, and gas.
It also kept digging into 10 lingering cases from prior years and concluded 9 probes, forwarding them for adjudication. High-profile cases piled up. Ten steel structure suppliers faced scrutiny for alleged bid rigging in tenders floated by power distribution companies.
Two top flat steel manufacturers were hit with price-fixing allegations. In transport, the Transporters Goods Association and the Local Goods Transport Association were investigated for fixing freight rates on cargo hauled from Port Qasim.
Cable companies drew heat for barring dealers from cutting prices below set levels, a violation tied to Resale Price Maintenance rules.
The CCP’s Office of Fair Trade (OFT) tackled misleading business tactics head-on, launching 13 new investigations into deceptive marketing. Eight probes from the previous year stayed active, while five wrapped up—two in pharma, one each in construction, commodities, and education.
Standout cases featured AR Amreli Builders, hit for unauthorized use of Amreli Steels’ trademark, Panther Tyres, flagged for touting itself as “Pakistan’s No. 1 Tyre,” and FS Cosmetics, probed for mimicking Dabur Amla Hair Oil’s packaging with false claims.
CCP Chairman Dr. Kabir Sidhu doubled down on the mission, warning that cartels, market abuse, and deceptive practices erode consumer rights and fair competition. “Cartelization, market manipulation through abuse of dominance, and deceptive marketing severely harm consumer rights and distort healthy competition,” he said. “The CCP maintains zero tolerance for such practices and is committed to taking strict action against them.”
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