The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Monday reviewed the performance of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), with the regulator reporting penalties exceeding Rs. 1.07 billion on multiple companies since August 2023.
According to official CCP records, major penalties included Rs. 375 million on fertilizer companies, Rs. 170 million on Friesland Campina and Unilever, Rs. 155 million on poultry companies, and Rs. 150 million on Kingdom Valley in the real estate sector. Other fines were imposed on firms in the automobile, paint, pharmaceuticals, and dairy industries.
Briefing the Committee, CCP Chairman Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said the Commission had resolved 280 legal cases from a backlog of 567 disputes pending for several years. He added that CCP had recovered Rs. 412 million in penalties during the last two years.
The Committee was further informed that penalties worth Rs. 43.5 billion on the sugar industry and Rs. 6.4 billion on the cement sector remain unrecovered due to stay orders obtained by the companies concerned. Senators directed the CCP to submit detailed timelines of the stay orders and sought assistance from the Law Ministry, Attorney General, and Advocate General in resolving the pending cases.
Committee Chair Senator Saleem Mandviwalla emphasized that CCP must be supported with legal aid to ensure effective enforcement and accountability in the market.