The Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld a decision by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) against Proctor and Gamble Pakistan (P&G) for using misleading marketing strategies. The Tribunal rejected P&G’s appeal and affirmed the CCP’s decision to fine the company Rs 5 million.
Initially, the CCP had fined P&G Rs 10 million for falsely claiming that its product Safeguard was the best antibacterial soap in Pakistan. However, the Tribunal reduced the fine to Rs 5 million because P&G cooperated during the investigation and ceased making the misleading claims about Safeguard after the CCP initiated its inquiry in 2014.
The investigation was prompted by a complaint from Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Limited, alleging that P&G’s Safeguard advertisements were deceptive. The CCP found that P&G’s ads violated Section 10 of the Competition Act by falsely portraying Safeguard as the best antibacterial soap in Pakistan without sufficient evidence to support such claims.
Furthermore, the CCP determined that labeling Safeguard as “Pakistan’s No 1 rated Anti-bacterial Soap” in advertisements without a clear disclaimer also contravened Section 10 of the Competition Act. Following the investigation, P&G received a notice from the CCP to provide an explanation for their actions.
