CCP imposes Rs. 10 million fine on P&G for providing misleading information

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a fine worth Rs. 10 million on Procter & Gamble (P&G) for falsely advertising its product Safeguard as Pakistan’s No. 1 rated anti-bacterial soap. This claim is a violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act 2010.

An investigation into the matter started when 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 into the matter concluded that the overall impression given by the ad was that Safeguard was Pakistan’s No. 1 anti-bacterial soap since the word ‘rated’ was written in a very small font. In addition to that, without a clear and conspicuous disclosure, this ad campaign for the soap amounts to violation of the Section 10 of the Competition Act.

The order was given by a two-member CCP bench which comprised of chairperson Vaddiya Khalil and member Ikramul Haq Qureshi.

The inquiry report made recommendations upon which a show-cause notice was issued to PG. The CCP bench passed the order in which it was stated that the advertisement claims must be based on ‘competent and reliable scientific evidence’ especially since the product involves health and safety claims.

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.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=55193

Posted by fatimaarshad on Jul 27 2017. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.