KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is just like a white elephant that has imposed penalties of up to Rs70 billion for different violations of the Competition Act on various sectors. However, the recovery remains paltry due to the fact that most of the undertakings have challenged the CCP’s orders in the higher courts where the due process of judicial review is underway. 

According to analysts, this is a clear indication that spade work done by the CCP was ineffective and never taken on solid grounds or based on unchallengeable facts. Its officials said that the real effectiveness of the CCP’s orders will be felt once the judicial review process is complete, particularly in the cartel cases that call for prioritization for the harm it incurs to the economy. But the question is what benefits have reached the consumers in the country. 

The CCP hierarchy says it is not a price regulator, but it only intervenes where the prices of goods and services are affected by anti-competitive practices such as abuse of dominance and cartelization.

The main job of the CCP is to make sure that markets are functioning in compliance with the competition rules and regulations. Contrary to this stand; it’s a fact that every business in the country is being run under cartelization from fresh milk to packed milk, the sugar industry, the cement industry, edible oils and ghee, chicken farming, flour mills, etc.  

According to its Chairperson, the CCP is not against businesses; rather the Competition Law is pro-business and pro-growth, however, without strict enforcement of the law, a competition culture cannot prevail. She informed that as per OECD reports/estimates, prices can go down 25-30 percent if cartels are busted. But practically she and her officials failed in doing so.

According to consumers; fresh milk prices have gone to Rs200 per litre, and sugar that could be supplied at Rs78 per kg has been charged more than Rs100 per kg. Cement bag that could be not of more than Rs 700 is being sold at Rs1020 to 1070, and white cement up to Rs1700 per bag, while the edible oils were enhanced from Rs250 to 500 per litre and even most of the company packets were of 900-ml instead of one full litre but the CCP teams were relaxing in air-conditioned offices instead of daily visiting open markets and consulting the consumer bodies.

Instead of saving the Public from unlawful profiteering, counterfeiting, and sub-standard products, it was promoting pitiless cartelization. According to CCP it took notice of the unusual rise in prices of edible oil in 2020 and initiated an inquiry against 110 edible oil companies that will help in stabilizing prices of this essential household product.

Sindh High Court recently ordered Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and 26 other producers to deposit 50 percent of respective penalties, for the grant of interim relief and suspension of CCP’s order that imposed around Rs44 billion on the sugar mills in a cartelization case. In the month of March 2022, CCP also imposed penalties of Rs1.1 billion on two home appliances companies that were involved in retail price maintenance (RPM) in connivance with dealers. But the question is again what impact was of all these steps and other notable actions taken by CCP contributed to promoting fair play in business and industrial activities and the benefit gathered by general consumers?

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 19 2022

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