ISLAMABAD: Deciding a long-outstanding cartel case involving the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has upheld the order of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and disposed of the appeal filed by the association. The tribunal, however, reduced the penalty from Rs 50 million to Rs 25 million, citing a judgment of the Supreme Court in a similar case, and directed the PPA to deposit the amount within 15 days of receipt of the order. In 2010, the Competition Commission of Pakistan fined the Pakistan Poultry Association and its members Rs 50 million for forming a cartel and illegally colluding on poultry product prices, in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act. The action triggered prolonged legal proceedings over cartelization in the poultry sector. During the hearing, counsel for the appellant told the tribunal that the association had no objection to the appeal being decided in line with the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in a similar case, in which the apex court had taken a lenient view and reduced the penalty. Relying on the same reasoning, and with the consent of the appellant, the Appellate Tribunal reduced the total penalty to Rs 25 million. The tribunal held that the facts of the present appeal were largely similar. It disposed of the case without examining the merits afresh. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025