Competition Appellate Tribunal cuts fine on flour mills to Rs35m

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has reduced the penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) for its involvement in wheat flour price-fixing, cutting the fine from Rs75 million to Rs35 million. The CCP had launched an inquiry in 2019 after reports emerged of an unusual spike in wheat flour prices nationwide. It later found that the PFMA had violated Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010 by fixing prices, sharing commercially sensitive information, and collectively determining production quantities — conduct deemed a horizontal agreement with anti-competitive objectives. Following its investigation, the CCP imposed the maximum statutory penalty of Rs75m. However, the PFMA challenged the decision before the tribunal, which, after reviewing the record and hearing arguments from both sides, decided to reduce the fine to Rs35m.