Background of the Case:

Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) took action on its own against tie- in of movie tickets with food coupons by Cinepax, the only multiplex cinema in Rawalpindi/Islamabad region. A formal enquiry was conducted in the matter. The findings of the enquiry were that such a tying of distinct products is a classic method for a dominant entity in one market to benefit from access to another market by coercion and places an unnecessary burden on the customers who do not have any choice but to buy the food coupon in addition to the cinema ticket. Consequently a Show Cause Notice was issued to Cinpax for, prima facie, violation of Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2010 (Act).

For its analysis, the Commission noted premium cinema to be the product market and Cinepax had a dominant position therein. The Commission further held that in the instant case, the undertaking did in fact tie-in two separate products i.e. cinema tickets and food coupons which were forcing consumers who only wanted to watch a movie to buy a food coupon. As such, the same violated Section 3(1) read with Sections 3(2) and 3(3)(c).

The Order:

The Bench took a lenient view to the compliant attitude of Cinepax and that violation existed for only 6 months in the past. The Bench took a compliance-oriented approach and accepted Cinepax’s offer to hold five showings for the underprivileged on their biggest screen and no penalty was imposed.

Current Status:>/h5>

The Order has been complied. Cinipax has submitted a schedule of five showings for the underprivileged.

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