The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) said on Thursday it had halved its court pendency and recovered hundreds of millions in fines over the past year.
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, CCP chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said active litigation follow-up reduced pending cases from 567 to 280, according to a CCP statement.
He said court decisions facilitated the recovery of Rs410 million in fines, while 14 cartel-related orders led to penalties exceeding Rs1 billion.
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Sidhu told the lawmakers that the CCP completed 20 inquiries into cartelisation and abuse of dominance, and 18 on deceptive marketing practices. The Commission’s Market Intelligence Unit also flagged 193 potential cases of collusion and deceptive practices, as per the CCP statement.
During the period under review, the CCP approved 117 mergers and acquisitions, which, according to the chairman, contributed Rs29 billion in foreign direct investment.
The committee urged the Law ministry to expedite hearings of the CCP cases pending before courts.
Law Secretary Raja Naeem informed the meeting that 200 CCP-related cases were before the Supreme Court, of which 167, challenging the regulator’s jurisdiction, have been clubbed and referred to a constitutional bench. Hearings are expected in September, he added.
Senators on the panel directed the CCP to intensify action against cartelization in the sugar and cement sectors. They assured the regulator of full backing in its enforcement efforts.
