Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a penalty of Rs10 million on Procter & Gamble Pakistan (P&G) for falsely advertising its product Safeguard as Pakistan’s No 1 rated anti-bacterial soap in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act 2010.

The order was passed by a two-member CCP bench comprising Chairperson Vadiyya Khalil and member Ikramul Haq Qureshi, according to a press release.

The CCP received a formal complaint from Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan in which it was alleged that P&G publicized its product Safeguard as Pakistan’s No 1 rated anti-bacterial soap despite lacking reasonable basis to substantiate the claim. An inquiry conducted by the CCP concluded that the overall impression of the advertisement was that Safeguard was Pakistan’s No 1 anti-bacterial soap since the word “rated” was written in a significantly smaller font.

Moreover, without a clear and conspicuous disclosure, this advertisement campaign for Safeguard amounts to violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act.

On the recommendation of the inquiry report, a show-cause notice was issued to P&G. After hearing the complainant and the respondent, the CCP bench passed the order, stating the advertisement claims must be based on “competent and reliable scientific evidence”, particularly if the product involved health and safety claims.

The CCP order found P&G’s reliance on studies and surveys to rank itself the top-rated soap irrelevant, materially false and misleading, thereby in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act.

In addition to imposing the penalty, the CCP also directed the company to “inform the public at large of the falsity of its advertising claim through an appropriate clarification in all Urdu and English dailies and television channels over a period of one week from the date of the order.”

The CCP further directed P&G to file a compliance report with the CCP registrar within 45 days from the date of issuance of the order.