Tribunal upholds CCP ruling against milk brand

Fine reduced from Rs35m to Rs5m after deceptive marketing charges proven

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ISLAMABAD:

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has upheld the findings of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) against M/s At-Tahur (Pvt) Limited, marketers of PREMA Milk, for engaging in deceptive marketing practices in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010.

According to a statement issued on Friday, the case stemmed from a complaint filed by the Pakistan Dairy Association, which alleged that PREMA circulated misleading claims on social media following the Supreme Court's 2016 judgment on milk quality. PREMA's campaign implied that all other dairy products, except its own, were unfit for human consumption—an assertion the CCP found baseless and damaging to competitors' business interests.

After an inquiry, the CCP concluded that At-Tahur had violated the Competition Act. The Commission imposed a Rs35 million penalty and directed it to publicly clarify its misleading statements.

While the CAT upheld the CCP's findings on the violation, it ruled that the penalty was excessive and reduced the fine from Rs35 million to Rs5 million, according to the statement.