ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has passed a detailed order imposing a Rs10 million penalty on a company over a comparison of its product with another product of a multinational company.
The order has been passed by a bench comprising the Chairman Farid Ahmad Tarar and Member Bushra Naz Malik.
It said the companies advertising their products against rival brands must be able to substantiate comparative claims with credible evidence, setting out a broader standard for businesses using product comparisons to influence buyers.
The Commission said a comparison made without a “reasonable basis or recognisable substantiation” may amount to false or misleading advertising under Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010.
The ruling clarifies that comparative advertising is not, by itself, prohibited. The regulatory concern arises when claims about a competing product’s quality or performance cannot be supported by evidence.
The CCP set out four elements for determining such a violation: representation to be false or misleading, involve a comparison, relate to goods and be made in the process of advertising.
The Commission found that the company failed to provide a reasonable basis or recognisable substantiation for that comparison.
It also considered a third-party laboratory report submitted by other company, which concluded after testing that the two products were of similar quality.
The order noted that the company did not rebut that report during the proceedings.
The decision also broadens the practical scope of what may constitute advertising.
The CCP rejected company argument that the demonstration was not advertising because it was shown to third-party channel partners rather than directly to consumers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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