Reckitt Benckiser fined Rs15m for misleading Dettol ads

July 19, 2024 (MLN): The Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld the Competition Commission of Pakistan's (CCP) findings against Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Pakistan for deceptive marketing of its flagship product, 'Dettol', and imposed a Rs15 million penalty on RB.

According to a press release issued on Thursday, the commission received a formal complaint from Unilever Pakistan alleging that RB had carried out a misleading, deceptive, unsubstantiated, and unethical advertising campaign for its product "Dettol Soap" through print and electronic media.

Following an inquiry, it was concluded that RB failed to substantiate the claims made in its advertisement specifically that Dettol Soap kills up to 99.9% of germs and provides 24-hour protection against germs, cold, and flu.

Consequently, RB was found to be engaged in deceptive marketing practices in violation of the Competition Act, 2010.

In its order dated December 26, 2019, the CCP concurred with the findings of the Enquiry Committee and found RB liable for distributing false and misleading information that was capable of harming the business interests of other undertakings as well as distributing information to consumers lacking reasonable basis with respect to the characters, properties and quality of its products.

For violations, the CCP imposed a penalty of Rs30 million on RB.

RB filed an appeal against the CCP’s order with the Competition Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal upheld findings of the CCP regarding RB’s violations of Section 10 of the Act.

However, it reduced the penalty to Rs15m.

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