The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) conducted an advocacy session at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) on Thursday in which the business community was briefed on the key provisions and mandate of the Competition Law and the significance of its effective implementation for the business growth, consumer protection and economic progress of the country. The advocacy session was addressed by Dr. Shahzad Ansar, Member CCP Office of Fair Trade and Advocacy, and Ikram Ul Haque Qureshi, Member Legal, Cartels & Trade Abuse, CCP, while attended by FCCI President Engineer Rizwan Ashraf, Senior Vice President Nadeem Iqbal Allahwala and FCCI Members in large number. Dr. Shahzad Ansar, gave an overview of the Office of Fair Trade and what constituted deceptive marketing practices under the Act. He urged businesses to avoid distributing false or misleading information and making unsubstantiated claims such as "No.1 in Pakistan" or "100% pure" etc. He said that recently CCP had fined a paint company over an advertisement campaign where it made the claim of "No. 1 in Paints" without any factual justification to prove the claim. Ikram Qureshi gave a detailed presentation on the overview of the Competition Act, 2010 and the enforcement powers of CCP. He said that under the Act, CCP was empowered to take action against anti-competitive practices such as cartels, abuse of dominant position and deceptive marketing practices. The CCP also reviewed mergers and acquisitions that were likely to distort competition in the market. To a question, Mr. Qureshi said that CCP was accessible to all, particularly the business community and it was its responsibility to address their grievances pertaining to competition. He informed the businessmen that CCP had recently started a number of inquiries against undertakings violating the Competition Law. Mr. Qureshi also briefed the participants on the powers of CCP to enter and search any premises, if it was deemed necessary for an investigation. He gave instances of CCP's actions against cartels in sectors such as sugar, cement, jute, vanaspati ghee and more recently against automotive dealers. He also discussed the investigation procedure and how CCP dealt with complaints assuring the audience that due process was followed by the Commission. President of FCCI Rizwan Ashraf urged the business community to strengthen the hands of CCP for an effective enforcement of the Competition Law. He said that the Competition Law was there to protect the business community from exploitation and rather created a business environment based on fair competitive practices. He appreciated CCP's friendly approach towards the business community and requested to more such advocacy sessions in order to create awareness and sensitization about the enforcement of the Law. The FCCI Members asked several questions pertaining to the provisions of the Competition Act and the enforcement powers of CCP, which were answered by the CCP Members. The advocacy session was part of an awareness program of CCP aimed to educate the business community on Competition Law with the view to encourage and improve voluntary compliance. CCP has previously held such advocacy sessions in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot and Multan chambers and intends to hold sessions in Quetta, AJK, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Rahimyar Khan and other cities of the country.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) conducted an advocacy session at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) on Thursday in which the business community was briefed on the key provisions and mandate of the Competition Law and the significance of its effective implementation for the business growth, consumer protection and economic progress of the country. The advocacy session was addressed by Dr. Shahzad Ansar, Member CCP Office of Fair Trade and Advocacy, and Ikram Ul Haque Qureshi, Member Legal, Cartels & Trade Abuse, CCP, while attended by FCCI President Engineer Rizwan Ashraf, Senior Vice President Nadeem Iqbal Allahwala and FCCI Members in large number.
Dr. Shahzad Ansar, gave an overview of the Office of Fair Trade and what constituted deceptive marketing practices under the Act. He urged businesses to avoid distributing false or misleading information and making unsubstantiated claims such as "No.1 in Pakistan" or "100% pure" etc. He said that recently CCP had fined a paint company over an advertisement campaign where it made the claim of "No. 1 in Paints" without any factual justification to prove the claim.
Ikram Qureshi gave a detailed presentation on the overview of the Competition Act, 2010 and the enforcement powers of CCP. He said that under the Act, CCP was empowered to take action against anti-competitive practices such as cartels, abuse of dominant position and deceptive marketing practices. The CCP also reviewed mergers and acquisitions that were likely to distort competition in the market. To a question, Mr. Qureshi said that CCP was accessible to all, particularly the business community and it was its responsibility to address their grievances pertaining to competition. He informed the businessmen that CCP had recently started a number of inquiries against undertakings violating the Competition Law.
Mr. Qureshi also briefed the participants on the powers of CCP to enter and search any premises, if it was deemed necessary for an investigation. He gave instances of CCP's actions against cartels in sectors such as sugar, cement, jute, vanaspati ghee and more recently against automotive dealers. He also discussed the investigation procedure and how CCP dealt with complaints assuring the audience that due process was followed by the Commission.
President of FCCI Rizwan Ashraf urged the business community to strengthen the hands of CCP for an effective enforcement of the Competition Law. He said that the Competition Law was there to protect the business community from exploitation and rather created a business environment based on fair competitive practices. He appreciated CCP's friendly approach towards the business community and requested to more such advocacy sessions in order to create awareness and sensitization about the enforcement of the Law.
The FCCI Members asked several questions pertaining to the provisions of the Competition Act and the enforcement powers of CCP, which were answered by the CCP Members. The advocacy session was part of an awareness program of CCP aimed to educate the business community on Competition Law with the view to encourage and improve voluntary compliance. CCP has previously held such advocacy sessions in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot and Multan chambers and intends to hold sessions in Quetta, AJK, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Rahimyar Khan and other cities of the country.
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