CCP 2019 order: Appellate Tribunal grants partial relief to flour mills, upholds Rs35mn fine
In 2019, the CCP had noted that the PFMA had been involved in fixing the wheat grinding quota for each member mill, which led to an increase in flour prices across the country.
The PFMA later challenged the CCP order before the CAT.
According to CCP's Tuesday statement, CCP's counsel argued in court that Sections 4(1) and 4(2)(a) of the Competition Act, 2010 prohibit any agreement or decision between undertakings, including associations, aimed at fixing prices.
Sugar crisis: Finance minister Aurangzeb, CCP chairman Sidhu discuss ways to stabilise market
'The CCP maintained that the repeated and structured issuance of price instructions by PFMA displaced the commercial autonomy of individual mills, constituting a horizontal agreement with an anti-competitive object.'
After hearing arguments from both sides and examining the record, the tribunal upheld CCP's findings but reduced the penalty to Rs35 million.
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