Covering up: Anti-trust watchdog reprimands paint companies

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has passed an order against 16 paint companies for violating Section 10 of the Competition Act 2010 that deals with deceptive marketing practices.

CCP acted on a concern raised by the Consumer Association of Pakistan that paint manufacturers were hiding tokens or redeemable coupons in paint packs without adequate disclosure, leaving the consumers largely unaware of this practice.

The undertakings were reprimanded and directed to file a compliance report on implementation of the directives by March 30, said an official handout.

CCP warned that continuous violation and non-adherence to the directives by any of the companies would entail penal action. The probe and hearings revealed that this was an industry practice that had been going on for many years. The companies were directed to modify all advertisements, promotional material or instruction manuals pertaining to the paints whether electronic or printed.