AIRLINK 175.65 Decreased By ▼ -1.91 (-1.08%)
BOP 11.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.36%)
CNERGY 8.33 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (1.96%)
FCCL 47.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.46%)
FFL 16.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.62%)
FLYNG 27.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-1.21%)
HUBC 142.45 Decreased By ▼ -4.46 (-3.04%)
HUMNL 13.37 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.04%)
KEL 4.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.11%)
KOSM 5.91 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
MLCF 61.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.52 (-0.84%)
OGDC 226.31 Decreased By ▼ -8.37 (-3.57%)
PACE 5.80 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PAEL 44.79 Decreased By ▼ -1.62 (-3.49%)
PIAHCLA 17.93 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.05%)
PIBTL 10.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-1.14%)
POWER 12.10 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.92%)
PPL 185.99 Decreased By ▼ -5.81 (-3.03%)
PRL 37.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.19%)
PTC 24.14 Increased By ▲ 0.94 (4.05%)
SEARL 99.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-0.93%)
SSGC 38.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.31 (-3.3%)
SYM 14.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.93%)
TELE 7.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.15%)
TPLP 11.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.09%)
TRG 66.00 Decreased By ▼ -1.29 (-1.92%)
WAVESAPP 11.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-3.08%)
WTL 1.36 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
YOUW 3.82 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (1.33%)
BR100 12,826 Increased By 19.4 (0.15%)
BR30 38,861 Decreased By -842.2 (-2.12%)
KSE100 118,792 Decreased By -146.5 (-0.12%)
KSE30 36,779 Increased By 22.6 (0.06%)

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has dismissed the appeals filed by electric cable manufacturers against the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s order, which fined these manufacturers for hiding cash coupons in their products without informing consumers.

The CCP conducted an enquiry against 18 electric cable manufacturing companies for inserting cash/cash coupons inside bundles of electric wire without disclosing this on the packaging or promotional material. This practice only benefited electricians who typically open the packs, deceiving end consumers who paid for the value of the coupons without being aware of it.

During the hearings, most of these manufacturers admitted to the deceptive practice and committed to ceasing it in the future.

On 26th March 2019, the CCP imposed penalties of PKR 5 million each on M/s. Fast Cables and M/s. G.M Cables, and Rs 500,000 each on M/s. E-flux Cable, Gold Royale Cable, Hero Cables, Alfa Plus Wires & Cables, and Falcon Cables for engaging in deceptive marketing practices by distributing false and misleading information to consumers, in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010. These companies had deceptively inserted tokens/cash coupons in their product packaging without disclosing their existence, at the expense of consumer benefit.

The companies appealed the CCP’s order before the Competition Appellate Tribunal. After hearing the parties at length, the Tribunal dismissed the appeals filed by M/s. E-Flux, Gold Royale Cables, Hero Cables, Alfa Plus Cables, and Falcon Cables, without modifying the penalties imposed by the CCP. However, the appeals filed by M/s. Fast Cables and G.M Cables were partially upheld, with the penalties reduced to Rs 500,000 each.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

Comments

Comments are closed.