Deciding a long-outstanding cartel case involving the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has upheld an order of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and disposed of the appeal filed by the association.
During its proceedings, the tribunal reduced the penalty from Rs. 50 million to Rs. 25 million, citing a judgment of the Supreme Court in a similar case, and directed the PPA to deposit the amount within 15 days of receipt of the order.
In 2010, the CCP fined the PPA and its members Rs. 50 million for forming a cartel and illegally colluding on poultry product prices, in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act. The action triggered prolonged legal proceedings over cartelization in the poultry sector. During the hearing, counsel for the appellant told the tribunal that the association had no objection to the appeal being decided in line with the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in a similar case, in which the apex court had taken a lenient view and reduced the penalty.
Relying on the same reasoning, and with the consent of the appellant, the Appellate Tribunal reduced the total penalty to Rs. 25 million. The tribunal held that the facts of the present appeal were largely similar to the 2022 ruling and disposed of the case without examining the merits afresh.