Honda Atlas Fails to Block CCP Inquiry as LHC Upholds Regulator’s Authority

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a petition filed by Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited against the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), reaffirming the regulator’s authority to seek information and conduct inquiries into possible anti-competitive practices in the automobile sector.

Justice Raheel Kamran, in a detailed judgment, ruled that the CCP has clear powers under Sections 36 and 37 of the Competition Act, 2010 to collect data, examine market conduct, and investigate anti-competitive behavior. The court noted that Honda Atlas had initially participated in the proceedings before later challenging the CCP’s jurisdiction, a move the court described as an attempt to stall the inquiry.

The CCP’s inquiry, launched in November 2018, centered on allegations of on-money payments, delayed deliveries, and price hikes after booking. Between 2018 and 2022, the Commission issued at least five notices seeking information on production, pricing, localization ratios, and dealer arrangements. Honda repeatedly sought extensions but failed to fully comply, even after physical visits by the CCP’s inquiry team in 2019 and 2021.

Instead of providing complete data, the company raised technical objections, questioning the legality of the inquiry and the Commission’s quorum. In June 2023, it approached the LHC and secured a stay order that effectively halted the investigation for nearly three years.

Justice Kamran rejected Honda Atlas’s argument that the CCP lacked jurisdiction after the 18th Amendment, stating that the Competition Act is a federal law applicable throughout Pakistan. Citing the Supreme Court’s Dalda Foods case (PLD 2023 SC 1991), the judge emphasized that providing information to the CCP is not an adverse action but a legal obligation essential for ensuring fair competition.

While dismissing the petition as “devoid of merit,” the court instructed the CCP to conclude the long-pending inquiry preferably within six months. The judgment strengthens the CCP’s position as a national watchdog and discourages corporate delay tactics in Pakistan’s evolving auto sector.