OPINION: CCP’s reinvention: from watchdog to market architect

Over the past two years, Pakistan’s Competition Commission (CCP) has undergone one of the most significant transformations in its history. Once viewed as a regulator weighed down by litigation, political pressure, and resistance from dominant business groups, but the CCP today operates with far greater authority, speed, and clarity of purpose. This shift is the result of structural reforms, tighter legal follow-through, and data-driven enforcement that has fundamentally reset how markets are monitored and how violations are pursued.

Clearing a decade of backlog

When the current leadership assumed charge in August 2023, CCP faced a crippling backlog of 567 court cases, many had been pending for years. Through an aggressive litigation strategy, including early-hearing applications and closer engagement with the judiciary, the Commission succeeded in securing decisions in approximately 428 cases, slashing the backlog by nearly 70 percent. Although several fresh petitions have since been filed against recent enforcement orders, the clearing of old cases unlocked long-stalled actions.

This judicial breakthrough had a direct financial impact. With court barriers removed, CCP recovered PKR 1.01 billion in penalties during the last two years alone, compared to barely PKR 200 million collected in the previous 15 years combined. The numbers signal a dramatic shift in enforcement momentum and reflect a regulator regaining its authority.

Subsequent rulings by courts have strengthened CCP’s hand. The Supreme Court in the Floor Mills Association case, the Lahore High Court in the Honda Atlas case, and earlier judgments in the Dalda and Telco (LDI/ICH) cases by the Islamabad High Court all upheld CCP’s authority to seek information and investigate under Sections 36 and 37. These decisions have sharply reduced the space for dominant firms to stall enforcement through litigation.

Enforcement with real impact

CCP has revived long-stalled actions against cartels and intensified its policing of cartelization in key sectors once considered untouchable. In the past two years alone, the Commission has imposed more than PKR 9 billion in penalties on cartel behaviour and recovered over PKR 600 million. Major actions in poultry, edible oil, telecom, real estate, and medical services signalled a clear shift that collusion and discriminatory practices would no longer go unchecked.

Consumers get a voice

CCP has also intensified its crackdown on deceptive marketing practices, taking action against companies whose claims misled consumers. Penalties on Kingdom Valley, Friesland Campina-Engro, Al-Ghazi Tractors, British Lyceum, and Hyundai Nishat underscore the fact that misleading advertising is now treated as a serious market distortion, not a minor violation.

Data-driven enforcement

The creation of the Market Intelligence Unit (MIU) is one of CCP’s most important institutional reforms. For the first time, enforcement is guided by real-time data rather than complaints alone. Using AI tools and digital surveillance systems, MIU has analysed more than 38,000 tender documents, flagged PKR 13 billion worth of suspicious procurement patterns, and generated 205 enforcement leads.

The unit’s dashboards now track online prices, digital ads, and algorithmic behaviours. The monitoring is critical in a marketplace where anti-competitive conduct increasingly happens behind code rather than closed doors.

Facilitating investments

CCP’s merger wing processed 139 merger and acquisition applications across 34 sectors in two years, including major transactions such as PTCL–Telenor, Shell Pakistan’s acquisition, and deals involving Total Parco and Lotte Chemical. The quicker, more transparent merger review system has helped reduce uncertainty for investors and ensured that consolidation does not translate into market dominance.

From regulator to market architect

CCP is gradually moving beyond reactive policing to shaping competitive markets by design. The Centre of Excellence in Competition Law (CECL) now produces research on supply-chain distortions, dealership agreements, vertical restraints, and digital platforms. This gives policymakers, businesses, and investors early insights into market risks before they harden into structural problems.

CCP needs to continue this trajectory, grounded in data, backed by law, and driven by institutional reform. It can help shift Pakistan away from monopolistic structures toward a genuinely competitive, growth-oriented economy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025