BACKGROUND: Issue in this case was, whether placing of floor (or fixing of minimum price) on the trading price of listed securities by KSE, LSE, and ISE during trading sessions amounts to “fixing the purchase and selling price of any goods or the provision of any service” thereby violating Section 4 of the Competition Ordinance, 2007. ORDER: The act of placing a floor on the trading price of listed securities by KS. LSE. ISE was held to be in violation of Section 4(1) of the Ordinance. The parties were, therefore, penalized as follows: i. KSE for a sum of rupees six million (Rs. 6,000,000). ii. LSE for a sum of rupees one million (Rs. 1,000,000); iii. ISE for a sum of rupees two hundred thousand (Rs. 200,000). APPEAL: KSE and LSE preferred an appeal under Section 41 of the Ordinance before the Appellate Bench of the Commission. ORDER OF THE APPELLATE BENCH: The Appellate Bench of the Commission after giving detailed hearings to both KSE and LSE, disposed off the appeals filed by LSE and KSE and upheld the order of the Single Member of the Commission. The Appellate Bench of the Commission was inclined to reduce the penalty by 50% (fifty percent) of KSE restricting it to a nominal sum of Rs. 500,000/- (five hundred thousand) provided: (a) KSE admits the contravention, (b) provides assurance to the Commission that no such action shall be taken in future and (c) deposits the penalty within a period of 2 (two) weeks from the date of issuance of this Order. The appellate Bench further held that, failure to comply with the above, KSE shall lose its opportunity to avail a lenient treatment and shall be liable to pay the original penalty as imposed by the Single Member in the sum of rupees one million. Since LSE has already accepted the contravention and submitted not to contest the subject Appeal, keeping the above in view and appreciating its responsible conduct the Appellate Bench of the Commission reduced the penalty for LSE to a nominal sum of Rs. 200,000/- (two hundred thousand).