FM directs CCP to take action against cartels

December 03, 2024 (MLN): The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, has directed the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to expedite its inquiries and investigations into cartelization and collusion practices.

The Minister assured CCP of the government's complete support and resolve to discipline markets, promote best practices and foster competition.

The Federal Minister visited the CCP head office today to receive a comprehensive briefing on the Commission’s performance. Chairman CCP, Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu, briefed the Minister on ongoing inquiries, provided details of significant cases pending in courts, and outlined recent initiatives to strengthen the CCP.

The briefing was attended by CCP members Mr. Saeed Nawaz, Mr. Salman Amin and, Mr. Abdul Rashid Sheikh, along with senior management.

Senator Aurangzeb expressed his appreciation for the Commission’s efforts but stressed the importance of adopting modern technologies and data analytics, to monitor and detect cartelization and collusion.

He assured CCP of the government’s full support, including budgetary provisions to digitalize the Commission’s operations and implement international benchmarking practices to strengthen its capabilities.

“The government is determined to discipline the markets and stop illegal practices at any cost. The Commission has the full backing of the government, and we expect the ongoing inquiries to be completed swiftly. However, it is crucial that the due process is followed, and there is no harassment,” the Minister stated.

Dr. Sidhu apprised the Minister that there was a backlog of 567 cases involving penalties worth Rs74 billion.

Over the past year, the Commission has made significant progress by recovering Rs100 million in penalties and resolving 73 cases in courts.

He also provided details of the number of pending cases, with around 200 in the Supreme Court, 179 in the Competition Appellate Tribunal, and 146 in various high courts.

A key development was the establishment of the Market Intelligence Unit (MIU), which has already identified over 150 instances of anti-competitive practices by using advanced data collection and analysis techniques.

Dr. Kabir also highlighted CCP’s research reports on market competitiveness in sectors such as insurance, aviation, road construction, and power.

The Minister commended the reports, urging government departments to leverage CCP’s findings to drive sectoral reforms.

Senator Aurangzeb also assured Dr Kabir Sidhu of his support in requesting the Chief Justice of Pakistan to help expedite the resolution of competition-related cases.

He also mentioned that he would approach the Federal Minister for Law and Justice for the early appointment of the Chairman and members of the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT).

The Minister further advised the CCP to engage the best legal professionals to pursue its cases and suggested establishing service legal agreements (SLAs) with agencies like the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to ensure the timely forensic examination of evidence collected during raids.

“The performance of the Competition Commission has been commendable, but there is always room for improvement. The goal is to make CCP more effective in its mission to curb market abuse and ensure fair competition,” the Finance Minister concluded.

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