Background of the Case:

Green Field Developers’ marketing campaign for its housing scheme, ‘Green City,’ made the false claim that it was located in Islamabad whereas it was in Fateh Jang. Moreover, by affixing logos of various governmental bodies in its advertising campaigns without obtaining the necessary approvals to do so, Green Field Developers was distributing misleading information.

Order:

The Commission held that the use of the term ‘Islamabad’ with ‘Green City’ suggests that the Respondent had some form of permission of CDA, and that it is located in Islamabad, which is not the case.

The Commission further held that the Respondent, by using various logos of public sector departments and organizations on various marketing media, disseminated false and misleading information to consumers in contravention of Section 10 of the Act.

While Green Field gave a commitment to the Commission not to engage in deceptive marketing practices again the Commission imposed penalty of PKR 2.5 million on Green Field Developers (Pvt.) Limited in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act.

The Commission observed that for the masses it almost takes a lifetime of savings or obtaining credit or loans to make such an investment for securing a more stable future. This transactional decision, according to the Commission, is a much more complex one as against buying a household or shelved product from a supermarket. In view of these observations, the Commission highlighted the higher burden placed on businesses which operate in the real estate market.

CURRENT STATUS:

Green Field filed appeal before CAT challenging the order. Matter is subjudice before CAT.