Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has upheld the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to probe deceptive marketing and anti-competitive conduct in the telecom sector, dismissing petitions filed by major telecom operators including Jazz, Telenor, Zong, Ufone, Warid, PTCL, and Wi-Tribe.
Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas, in a detailed 19-page judgment, ruled that the CCP lawfully exercised its powers under the Competition Act, 2010, in issuing show-cause notices to telecom operators over misleading advertising and hidden service charges on prepaid customers. The court held that CCP's mandate spans all sectors of the economy, including telecommunications, and functions concurrently with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The petitions, filed between 2013 and 2014, challenged CCP's show-cause notices over alleged deceptive marketing practices - including concealed 'service maintenance' or 'recharge' fees on prepaid cards, and 'unlimited internet' packages subject to hidden fair usage policies.
In another case (W.P. 2757/2023), PTCL had sought to halt an inquiry by CCP over discriminatory pricing in fixed local loop (FLL) services.
Rejecting the telecom firms' contention that the PTA held exclusive powers in the sector, the court observed in paragraph 22 of the judgment that 'the CCP possesses overarching jurisdiction across all sectors of the economy, including telecommunications.' It clarified that while the PTA governs technical and operational regulation, the CCP is the competent authority to handle competition-related and deceptive marketing matters.
Justice Minhas also held that even regulatory bodies like PTA fall under CCP's definition of an 'undertaking,' as per Section 2(1)(q) of the Act.
The court further noted that the petitions were premature since CCP's show-cause notices were procedural, not final orders. It stated that petitioners had sufficient statutory remedies before the Commission, its appellate bench, and the Competition Appellate Tribunal.
'Interference at this initial stage would obstruct a statutory body from performing its lawful functions and undermine the legislative intent of the Competition Act, 2010,' the judgment concluded.
The IHC, therefore, dismissed all seven connected petitions as 'not maintainable.'