Islamabad:
The Supreme Court has set aside an RS44 billion fine of the Competition Commission in Pakistan (CCP) had imposed the country’s sugar factories who decided that both the original decision and a later appeal order was illegal.
A division bench consisting of Justice Shakeel Ahmed and Justice Aamer Farooq, set aside the Competition Appellate Tribunals May 21, 2025 Order and CCP’s 13 August 2021 “Casting Vote” decision.
The dispute began in November 2020, when CCP issued identical messages of showing reasons for Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and Mill’s nationwide and accused them of violating section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010, which prohibits cartel-like behavior.
A CCP panel with four members heard the case, but split evenly in August 2021. Two members, including then-chairman Rahat Kaunain Hassan, the mills found guilty, while two others called for a fresh investigation.
Rahat then cast a crucial vote in favor of his own opinion-an unusual step that triggered the multibillion peppe fine.
Sugar Mills contested this step for the Court of Appeal, which in May 2025 ordered a new consultation by a member who had not signed any of the two previous statements. The mills claimed before the Supreme Court that the Court’s Directive violated the Competition Act and its own rules.
The bench agreed and knocked down both the court’s order and CCP’s decision on Casting-Vote. It canceled the fine, but left CCP free to launch fresh procedures based on the original 2020 messages.
Advisors Abdul Sattar Pirzada, Shehzad Atta Elahi and Sikandar Bashir Mohmand represented the sugar factories, while CCP was represented by Asma Hamid.
CCP is an independent legislative body established in 2007 under the Competition Act. Its most important role is to ensure equal conditions in the country’s markets by preventing competitive practice such as cartels, abuse of dominance, misleading marketing and mergers that could harm competition. CCP aims to protect consumers from utilization and promote efficiency, innovation and economic growth.
Over the years, CCP has conducted inquiries and imposed sanctions for companies involved in collaboration, pricing and other unreasonable trading practices. It also issues political advice to the government on competition issues, which increases awareness among companies and consumers about fair market behavior. Despite challenges in enforcement and resistance from powerful sectors, CCP plays an important role in making Pakistan’s markets more transparent and competitive.
PSMA is the representative body of sugar factory owners across the country. It plays an influential role in political discussions related to sugar cane prices, production, import and export of sugar.
It often negotiates with the government on issues such as support prices for sugar cane, taxation policies and subsidies to protect the sugar industry’s interests.
However, PSMA is often under public and regulatory control. CCP has accused it of cartelization, pricing manipulation and artificial control of the sugar supply to maximize the profits.
