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The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) on Friday remanded the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) cartelisation case back to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for a fresh hearing, nullifying a previous ruling based on a casting vote by the Commission’s chairperson.
The tribunal issued its decision while hearing appeals filed by PSMA and its member sugar mills, directing the CCP to rehear the matter either by the Chairperson or another Commission member who was not involved in the earlier conflicting opinions. The CAT also instructed that a final ruling be issued within 90 days.
The PSMA cartelisation case has been one of the most high-profile antitrust proceedings in Pakistan. In 2021, the CCP imposed its largest-ever penalty—nearly Rs44 billion (over US$265 million)—on 55 sugar mills and the PSMA. The commission accused them of cartelisation, anti-competitive conduct, and collectively deciding export quantities, among other violations.
Tribunal Declares Casting Vote in PSMA Cartelisation Case Invalid
At the time, the CCP’s four-member bench was split evenly. Chairperson Rahat Kaunain Hassan and member Mujatba Lodhi supported the penalty, while Bushra Naz Malik and Shaista Bano dissented. To resolve the deadlock, Chairperson Rahat used a casting vote under Subsection 5 of Section 24 of the Competition Act, 2010, finalising the ruling through a note dated August 13, 2021.
However, the legality of using a casting vote in a quasi-judicial setting became the crux of the appeals. In its verdict, the CAT declared that the Chairperson has no legal authority to cast a deciding vote in such proceedings under the current competition law. Consequently, the casting vote and the subsequent decision were set aside.
With the case now returning to the CCP, the fresh hearing will determine the fate of the alleged PSMA cartelisation and whether competition laws were indeed violated by the sugar mills and the association.
