The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is an independent quasi-regulatory, quasi-judicial body that helps ensure healthy competition between companies for the benefit of the economy.
The Commission prohibits abuse of a dominant position in the market, certain types of anti-competitive agreements, and deceptive market practices. It also reviews mergers of undertakings that could result in a significant lessening of competition. Combined with its advocacy efforts, the Commission seeks to promote voluntary compliance and develop a ‘competition culture’ in the economy.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) was established on 2 October 2007 under the Competition Ordinance, 2007, which was repromulgated in November 2009. Major aim of this Ordinance is to provide for a legal framework to create a business environment based on healthy competition for improving economic efficiency, developing competitiveness and protecting consumers from anti-competitive practices.
Prior to the Competition Ordinance, 2007, Pakistan had an anti-monopoly law namely ‘Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (Control and Prevention) Ordinance’ (MRTPO) 1970. The Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) was the organization to administer this Law. In the fast changing global and national economic environment, the MRTPO, 1970 was inadequate to address competition issues effectively. This was because: i) the 1970’s law was out of date for a modernizing and rapidly transforming market economy; ii) due to several limitations in the law, the MCA was not able to meet the expectations of businesses and the consumers at large; iii) the first generation reforms that liberalized the economy and encouraged the private sector required a competition policy framework that could promote and protect competition and innovation.
The Government of Pakistan thus launched a programme to develop Competition Policy as a key “second generation reform” initiative. Towards this end, the Ministry of Finance and the MCA worked with the World Bank and the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. As a result of these efforts, Competition Ordinance, 2007 replaced the MRTPO.
The Competition Ordinance, 2009 considers the current economic realities as well as corrects the deficiencies of the MRTPO related to definitional aspects, coverage, penalties, and other procedural matters.
In line with modern competition regimes, the law adopts a ‘carrot and stick” approach – the law provides for higher fines combined with imprisonment for non-compliance; on the other hand, the carrot is sweetened with sophisticated leniency provisions that may eventually lead to no fines and imprisonment, subject to certain conditions. To maintain high standard of evidence for unearthing secret cartels, the Competition Commission has legal powers to conduct searches and inspections’.
| The Commission is a collegiate body and its main role is to make policy decisions and to oversee the working of the Commission. The Commission, at present, consists of four Members including the Chairperson.
|
| Ms. RAHAT KAUNAIN HASSAN, is the second and current Chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan. |
Ms. Rahat Kaunain Hassan was appointed Chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (the ‘Commission’ or ‘CCP’) on July 26th 2010, and has served as Member (Legal and Office of Fair Trading) of the Commission since its founding in November, 2007. She received a Master’s degree in law (L.L.M.), from King’s College, London, having concentrated her academic work on the law of international finance and international business transactions. She has been associated with and has been a partner at some of Pakistan’s finest civil and commercial law firms.
In 2001, Ms. Hassan was appointed General Counsel/Executive Director at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Soon after the conclusion of her tenure at SECP, Ms. Hassan established her own law firm which engaged in civil, commercial and regulatory law practice. However, her interest in and commitment to public service resulted in her accepting the nomination as Member of CCP in November, 2007. As Member, she was instrumental in the establishment of the Office of Fair Trading within CCP and has authored numerous position papers, guidelines, policy notes regarding important issues of competition law and policy. Moreover, she has co-authored most of the seminal Orders passed by CCP including those that resulted in breaking the most pernicious cartels.
A working mother of four children, Ms. Hassan has been a high achiever in her field, and in recognition of her commitment to public service received the Women of Achievement Award, 2010. She has also been nominated for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Mr. ABDUL GHAFFAR , Member (Cartels, Monopolies, & Trading Abuses), is associated with Pakistan’s competition agencies since 2002. First, he served the Monopoly Control Authority as member and was later appointed as member of the Competition Commission of Pakistan on October 2nd, 2007.
|
|
He was actively involved in drafting the new competition law and restructuring of the Monopoly Control Authority of Pakistan in his capacity as a member of the Steering Committee for Competition Policy, headed by Secretary, Finance.
As member (Cartels and Mergers) he has taken several landmark decisions in cases relating to cartels, mergers and acquisitions.
He has over 38 years of experience ranging from administration, public policy, finance, accounts, taxation, corporate laws, strategic studies, and competition & consumer protection laws. Earlier in his career he gained expertise in international dimensions of taxation laws while actively negotiating Pakistan’s conventions of avoidance of double taxation of income with great number of developed and developing countries. For over thirty years he served in Federal Board of Revenue in various capacities dealing with administration of all direct taxes (Income Tax, Capital Tax, Gift Tax, Capital Value Tax) as well as Sales Tax.
He got B.Sc (Physics & Maths) degree from Govt. College Lahore. Then obtained LL.B degree from university college Lahore and M.Sc. degree from Quid e Azam University Islamabad. Before joining the government service he was a practicing lawyer as member of Lahore district Bar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Dr. JOSEPH WILSON , Member (Policy Planning, Research, Exemptions & International Affairs), has over 15 years of experience of practice, research, and teaching in regulatory laws. Prior to joining the Commission, Dr. Wilson was an Associate Professor of Law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan, where he taught “competition law” in addition to other courses.
Dr. Wilson has earned Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) with Deans Honour List and Masters of Law (LL.M.) degrees from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, where he was a recipient of Justice Greenshield’s Memorial Scholarship. He also holds an LL.M. from the University of Georgia, USA. He has presented at various international conferences, published in international law journals and authored a book title “Globalization and the Limits of National Merger Control Laws (published by Kluwer Law International).
Prior to joining LUMS, Dr. Wilson taught at McGill Faculty of Law, and held an administrative position at its Centre for the Study of Regulated Industries. He is a member of the State Bar of New York, USA and Lahore High Court Bar, and also serves on the International Advisory Board of the Loyola University Chicago’s Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, USA.
|
|
|
 |
Ms. Vadiyya KhalilMember (Mergers & Acquisitions), has over18 years of rich and varied experience in corporate and commercial banking at national and international banks including Credit Agricole, ANZ Grindlays, MCB Bank Limited, Askari Commercial Bank and National Bank of Pakistan.
Ms. Khalil has taken upon leadership roles and has been contributory in the success of several key projects. Her recent roles at Askari Bank have included Chief Credit Officer (COO) and Country Head of Corporate Banking. In the CCO role, she examined proposals from the Corporate, Commercial, SME and Investment banking sectors of the bank and was the Mandatory Signatory to the Head Office Credit Committee. She was also responsible for contestation and compliance issues with State Bank of Pakistan regulators.
She has a Masters degree in Management Sciences from the University of Kent, United Kingdom and specialized in Corporate Strategy, Operations Research, Techniques of Management, Marketing and Global Modeling. In addition Ms. Khalil has studied Italian Language and Literature at the University of Perugia, Italy and holds a Diploma in French from Alliance Francaise, Paris.
She has also attended various courses on Leadership, Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Financial Statements. |
|
|
|
 |
Mr. Mohammed Hayat Jasra, is appointed Secretary to the Commission on 12-11-2007 – the date when the Commission was established. Mr. Jasra is Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants and is also Member of the Institute of Charter Secretaries & Administrators, UK. He holds Masters Degree in Economics and is also LLB (Honours).
|
|
| He has long experience of 26 years in different senior positions in another Regulatory Authority i.e. SECP. He was working with SECP as its Secretary and also Executive Director (Law), when he sought retirement on personal grounds from that Commission. Mr. Jasra has rendered valuable services to the Competition Commission as Secretary and also as Legal Expert. Apart from his duties as Secretary, he assisted the Commission by drafting all the Regulations and the Rules framed under the Competition Ordinance and also notifying in the Gazette of Pakistan, all the important decisions of the Commission. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Competition Act, 2010 (CA ‘10) is part of the broader competition policy framework of the Government of Pakistan through which it endeavours to engender free competition in all spheres of commercial and economic activity. The crucial objective of CA ’10 is to enhance economic efficiency and to protect consumers from anti competitive behavior.
|
Briefly, the law prohibits situations which tend to lessen, distort or eliminate competition such as actions constituting an abuse of market dominance, competition restricting agreements and deceptive market practices. Although essentially an enabling law, it briefly sets out procedures relating to review of mergers and acquisitions, enquiries, imposition of penalties, grant of leniency and other essential aspects of law enforcement.
| Competition advocacy is about promotion of competition through means, other than law enforcement. A competition authority – how it is perceived by the general public, by the business community and by other government and regulatory bodies – has a significant importance on how effectively it will be able to perform its duties.
Like other developing countries Pakistan also faces the challenge to build competition culture. Being well aware of this challenge, CCP is vigorously pursuing an advocacy agenda to inform, educate and persuade its stakeholders on the need and implementation of competition law. CCP is giving full attention to building a competition culture through aggressive public relations and dissemination of information.
The advocacy agenda of CCP is broad-based and focuses on education of a wide range of stakeholders including the government, industry, media, undertakings and the civil society. All available resources are being used to build a competition culture through advocacy and communications. Few examples of the advocacy activities taken up by CCP include media appearances/coverage ,Interviews, Press Releases, seminars, advocacy meetings and media training workshops, roundtables, Competition Consultative Group’s meetings and bilateral meetings with sector-specific regulators.
Advocacy is an ongoing process and it takes a central position in the overall competition policy of Pakistan. With limited resources at hand, CCP is trying to seek out programs that require little spending and ensure widespread influence. Please see the of activities. |
|
Head Fast 