Cartels must be busted for prices to go down: CCP.

KARACHI -- Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Chairperson Rahat Kaunain Hassan on Friday said cartels must be busted with strict enforcement of competition law for prices to go down by 25-30 per cent.

In an advocacy session held at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), she said the commission had imposed penalties of around Rs70 billion for different violations of the Competition Act on various sectors since its inception in 2007.

She, however, deplored that the recovery remained paltry because most of the undertakings had challenged the CCP's orders in the higher courts. 'The real effectiveness of the CCP's orders will be felt once the judicial review process is complete, particularly in the cartel cases that call for prioritisation for the harm it incurs to the economy,' she added

However, she noted that without strict enforcement of the law, a competition culture cannot prevail. As an institution, the CCP is accountable for its mandate, but in pending cases, the review process has to take its course, she stressed.

Ms Hassan said that as against the general impression, the CCP is not a price regulator, but it only intervenes where the prices of goods and services are affected by anti-competitive practices such as abuse of dominance and cartelisation.

The main job of CCP...