ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) faces two major challenges in the shape of non-payment of three percent of fee charges by five regulatory institutions and the appeals against the commission’s orders in different courts, a senior official said on Thursday. Discussing the challenges still faced by the commission, CCP Chairperson Rahat Kaunain Hassan said that the payment of three percent of fee charges of five regulatory institutions to the CCP fund and the appeals against the commission’s orders pending in different courts were among the few outstanding issues. The CCP hosted the 11th quarterly meeting of the Competition Consultative Group (CCG), a body set up by the CCP to solicit feedback and suggestions on competition-related issues and policies from the public and private sector representatives. The meeting was presided over by the CCP chairperson, who was accompanied by Abdul Ghaffar, CCP Member (Cartel, Monopolies and Trade Abuses), Dr Joseph Wilson, Member Mergers, Acquisitions, and International Affairs, Vadiyya Khalil, Member Advocacy and IT, Mueen Batlay, Member Competition Policy and Research, Dr Shahzad Ansar, Member Office of Fair Trading and Budgetary Affairs and Ikram Ul Haq Qureshi, Director General Legal and Corporate Affairs. The participants of the meeting included Managing Director, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, Hafeezur Rehman, Managing Director Lahore Stock Exchange, Aftab Ahmed Chaudhry, senior officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the State Bank of Pakistan, Civil Aviation Authority, CEO of ICI Pakistan, the CEO and representatives of Nestle, CEO of JS Private Equity, senior representatives of Unilever Pakistan, UBL Fund Managers, Pakistan Business Council, and senior journalists Mansoor Ahmed, and Muhammad Riaz. The CCP chairperson in her opening remarks quoted Lord Goff, a former British Judge, as saying: “We are there to oil the wheels of commerce, not to put a spanner in the works.” The commission’s role is not to scare businesses, but to discipline them and create a fair play for all market players, she said. She expressed the hope that the business community would extend its full cooperation to the commission in implementing the Competition Law. Rahat highlighted the competition concerns regarding exclusive and concessionary agreements that the government reaches with specific parties to bridge the infrastructure gap. She said that the CCP is probing such concessions to ensure that the Competition Law has not been compromised in such cases. A representative of the Unilever Pakistan turned the attention of the CCP chairperson towards Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) and how competition was affected by smuggling and dumping of tea in the local market. The CCP chairperson asked Unilever to provide details and said that the commission would examine if there are any competition issues in ATT and if required, the CCP would issue a policy note to the government, she said. She gave an overview of the CCP’s performance during the financial year 2011 and discussed the challenges being faced by the commission. Although the CCP remained dysfunctional for as long as 57 days from August 17 2010 to October 12, 2010 due to lapsing of the Competition Ordinance, pending legislation in the Parliament, yet its pace of enforcement and advocacy of the law did not slowdown. She said that the commission issued 13 orders, 49 show-cause notices, conducted six search and inspections, issued 75 merger NOCs and granted 49 exemptions since July 27, 2010. As part of the Competition Research and Advocacy, the commission completed five sector studies and hosted around 24 different advocacy events to create awareness of the law. Rahat said that the passage of the Competition Act by the Parliament in October 2010 was the biggest triumph of the commission as it removed all apprehensions regarding its legality. She praised the role of the Parliament in resolving this longstanding issue. A source of encouragement for the commission, she said, was also that the business community had started realising the importance of compliance with the Competition Law. The chairperson also touched upon the future roadmap of the commission, saying that the enforcement will remain its top priority, while the commission will continue to hold advocacy sessions with the business community. She said search and inspections have proven to be very effective in investigations, thus, the commission will continue using it as a tool of investigation. Rahat informed the CCG members that the commission had made itself more accessible and visible to the public by moving its premises from Diplomatic Enclave to Blue Area in Islamabad, a move that will also save approximately Rs30 million in terms of cost, rental, time, and efficiency.
