Tribunal sends sugar mills’ fine case back to CCP
2 min read
ISLAMABAD: The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has remanded the Rs 44 billion sugar mills penalty case back to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for a fresh hearing.
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) had challenged the CCP’s decision before the Appellate Tribunal. The CCP had imposed a Rs 44 billion penalty on PSMA for allegedly forming a cartel to fix sugar prices in the country.
In its short order, the Tribunal directed that the case be reheard by either the Chairperson or any other Commission member who was not a signatory to either of the previous conflicting opinions. The Tribunal further instructed that a final decision should be issued preferably within 90 days.
The CCP’s original 2021 order was issued by a four-member bench, which was evenly split in its opinion. Two members, including Chairperson Ms. Rahat Kaunain Hassan and Member Mujtaba Lodhi, supported the penalty, while the other two members, Ms. Bushra Naz Malik and Shaista Bano, issued dissenting opinions.
To resolve the deadlock, then-Chairperson Rahat Kaunain exercised a casting vote under Subsection 5 of Section 24 of the Competition Act, 2010, through a note dated August 13, 2021. This effectively turned the deadlock into a majority decision that upheld the penalty.
However, the legality of the casting vote became the central issue in the appeals. The Tribunal has now ruled that the Chairperson does not have the authority to exercise a casting vote in quasi-judicial proceedings under the Competition Act, 2010. As a result, the decision based on the casting vote has been set aside.
Following the fresh hearing, the decision by the Chairperson or the assigned member will resolve the matter and determine whether PSMA and its member sugar mills violated competition law.
It is worth noting that the CAT has recently become fully functional after the federal government appointed a new Chairman, enabling the Tribunal to resume hearings on several long-pending appeals.
