Dr. Joseph Wilson, Chairman, Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), said that CCP is playing the role of a facilitator to create a competitive business environment that is conducive for investment in the country. He said this while addressing an advocacy session at the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) in Karachi today. The session was also attended by Dr. Shahzad Ansar, Mr. Mueen Batlay, Members CCP, Mr. Abdul Aleem, Secretary General OICCI and Members of OICCI. The Chairman while giving an overview of CCP's performance noted that it had made a number of interventions whereby companies voluntarily complied with provisions of the competition law. He said that in the last one year CCP had scrutinized and processed complaints regarding cartelization and other anti-competitive practices in various sectors of the economy. He said that despite various administrative issues, the Commission was focused on effectively discharging its statutory obligations. Dr. Wilson informed the participants of the meeting that the Competition Act, 2010 provides for a mandatory merger control regime and in 2013-14 CCP had granted No-Objection-Certificates (NOCs) in 38 cases of acquisitions, 4 cases of mergers and 4 joint ventures. Dr. Wilson said that there is a need to engage government departments and advocate for policies that were competitive-neutral. A crucial element in this advocacy strategy is the issuance of non-binding advice to government departments in the form of Policy Notes. In 2013-14 the Commission issued five Policy Notes -- to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recommending the abolition of an anti-competitive capacity tax on the beverage industry, to Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) regarding the non-issuance of flare gas licenses, to the Higher Education Commission regarding its equivalence standards, on the discriminatory levy of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on selective fertilizer plants and discriminatory access to Inland Freight Equalization Margin pool. Noting that since some regulations and processes were still based on the Competition Ordinance of 2007 despite the enactment of the Competition Act, 2010, CCP revised the regulations, i.e. (i) Competition (Leniency) Regulations, 2013 (ii) Competition (Exemption) Regulations, 2014 (iii) Competition (Reward Payment to Informants) Regulations, 2014. The Commission is in the process of revising some regulations including the Merger Regulations. Dr. Wilson said that CCP received international recognition for its efforts on various forums including the World Bank and Global Competition Review. Earlier, OICCI General Secretary Abdul Aleem welcomed the CCP delegation and gave a presentation on the OICCI perception survey about the government institutions.
Dr. Joseph Wilson, Chairman, Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), said that CCP is playing the role of a facilitator to create a competitive business environment that is conducive for investment in the country. He said this while addressing an advocacy session at the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) in Karachi today. The session was also attended by Dr. Shahzad Ansar, Mr. Mueen Batlay, Members CCP, Mr. Abdul Aleem, Secretary General OICCI and Members of OICCI.
The Chairman while giving an overview of CCP's performance noted that it had made a number of interventions whereby companies voluntarily complied with provisions of the competition law. He said that in the last one year CCP had scrutinized and processed complaints regarding cartelization and other anti-competitive practices in various sectors of the economy. He said that despite various administrative issues, the Commission was focused on effectively discharging its statutory obligations.
Dr. Wilson informed the participants of the meeting that the Competition Act, 2010 provides for a mandatory merger control regime and in 2013-14 CCP had granted No-Objection-Certificates (NOCs) in 38 cases of acquisitions, 4 cases of mergers and 4 joint ventures.
Dr. Wilson said that there is a need to engage government departments and advocate for policies that were competitive-neutral. A crucial element in this advocacy strategy is the issuance of non-binding advice to government departments in the form of Policy Notes. In 2013-14 the Commission issued five Policy Notes -- to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recommending the abolition of an anti-competitive capacity tax on the beverage industry, to Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) regarding the non-issuance of flare gas licenses, to the Higher Education Commission regarding its equivalence standards, on the discriminatory levy of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on selective fertilizer plants and discriminatory access to Inland Freight Equalization Margin pool.
Noting that since some regulations and processes were still based on the Competition Ordinance of 2007 despite the enactment of the Competition Act, 2010, CCP revised the regulations, i.e. (i) Competition (Leniency) Regulations, 2013 (ii) Competition (Exemption) Regulations, 2014 (iii) Competition (Reward Payment to Informants) Regulations, 2014. The Commission is in the process of revising some regulations including the Merger Regulations.
Dr. Wilson said that CCP received international recognition for its efforts on various forums including the World Bank and Global Competition Review.
Earlier, OICCI General Secretary Abdul Aleem welcomed the CCP delegation and gave a presentation on the OICCI perception survey about the government institutions.
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