ISLAMABAD: The Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld an order passed by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) against Proctor and Gamble Pakistan (P&G) for engaging in deceptive marketing practices.

The tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by the P&G and ruled that the CCP has the authority to determine the legitimacy of a complaint and to decide whether to accept or dismiss it based on the complaint’s merits.

The CCP had imposed a penalty of Rs10 million on P&G for falsely advertising its product Safeguard as Pakistan’s no. 1 anti-bacterial soap.

However, the tribunal reduced the penalty to Rs5m, considering P&G’s compliance-oriented approach and the fact that it had dropped the no.1 claim shortly after the initiation of inquiry by the CCP in 2014.

The inquiry was initiated based on a complaint filed by Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Ltd, alleging that P&G’s advertisement campaign for Safeguard was misleading.

The CCP concluded that P&G’s advertisement campaign violated Section 10 of the Competition Act by creating the overall impression that Safeguard was Pakistan’s top-rated anti-bacterial soap. It lacked a reasonable basis to substantiate the claim.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2024