Leniency and Reward Payment to Informants

Apart from search and inspection, the Commission has two basic tools to unearth cartels and other anti-competitive practices. The first is the leniency provision and the second is the reward payment to informants scheme.

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LENIENCY

Under §39 of the Act, the Commission shall, if it is satisfied that any business that is a party to an agreement prohibited under §4 of the Act, has made a full and true disclosure of the alleged violation, grant full immunity or reduction in the amount of financial penalties that can be imposed. ‘Leniency’ is considered as one of the important tools in detecting and prosecuting cartels. The details of the leniency scheme are found in the Competition Leniency Regulations.

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REWARD PAYMENT TO INFORMANTS SCHEME

In case an individual has adequate information about a cartel or anti-competitive practice, he or she may report such activities to the Commission. The Commission rewards informants an amount ranging from a minimum of PKR 200,000 to PKR 2,000,000. The reward shall be paid if the information provided by the informant is accurate, verifiable, and useful in the Commission’s anti-cartel enforcement. The Commission keeps the identity of the informant confidential.