Competition Commission of Pakistan disposes of Show Cause Notice issued to Shangrila (Private) Limited

Islamabad, December 02, 2013 (PPI-OT): The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) while conducting a hearing in the matter of show cause notice issued to M/s Shangrila (Private) Limited for prima facie violation of Section 10 of Competition Act that deals with deceptive marketing practices, accepted their commitments and disposed of the matter.

The matter was heard by a three member bench comprising of Dr. Joseph Wilson, Chairman, Mr. Mueen Batlay, Member and Dr. Shehzad Ansar, Member.

The representative of National Foods argued that in terms of clear findings of the enquiry report and the Retail Audit Survey conducted by A.C. Neilson, National Food had major market share while the market share of Shangrila was quite low. It was also submitted that even the Brands Foundation has not allowed Shangrila to use ‘No. 1’ tagline.

On the other hand the Counsel appearing on behalf of the Shangrila filed Commitment under Regulation 30 of the Competition Commission (General Enforcement) Regulations, 2007 that the marketing campaign under question had already been discontinued and they will ensure compliance with the Competition Act and the directions of the CCP in the matter thereof.

Based on the aforesaid commitment and the forthcoming approach of Shangrila, the CCP’s bench disposed of the matter while accepting the commitments filed by Shangrila ensuring compliance thereof and also directing to file compliance report that none of marketing material contains deceptive claim i.e. Pakistan’s No. 1 used in the marketing campaign in question.

Consumer protection is a key area of Competition Law Enforcement and CCP’s Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has been established to further the Commission’s objective of creating a business environment based on healthy competition and protecting consumers from anti competitive practices.

For more information, contact:
Asfandyar Khattak
Joint Director (Media and Communications)
Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP)
4-C, Diplomatic Enclave, Shams Gate G-5, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: 051-9247531
Fax: +92-51-9247548
Email: akhattak@cc.gov.pk
Web: www.cc.gov.pk