Pakistan Supreme Court upholds price-fixing ruling against PVMA

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld a finding that the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) violated competition laws by collectively determining the prices of ghee and cooking oil. A two-member bench, including Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, affirmed the previous rulings of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT).

The case originated from consultations between the federal government and the PVMA between 2007 and 2009. During these discussions, intended to reduce product prices, the association communicated agreed-upon prices to its member companies. The court ruled that this conduct constituted prohibited price-fixing under the Competition Act, 2010, as competing businesses are required to determine prices independently based on their own commercial considerations.

While the court affirmed the violation, it reduced the penalty from the original Rs50 million imposed by the CCP to Rs30 million. The judges noted that collective pricing undermines market competition by removing the pressure on individual manufacturers to compete, and clarified that an agreement is not made lawful simply because the collectively determined prices are lower than prevailing market rates.