CAT Reduces Penalty on 20 Medical Centers For Price Fixing

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has upheld CCP’s order against 20 medical centers and laboratories and their five associations for collusive price fixing, territorial allocation of customers, and other anti-competitive practices in mandatory pre-departure medical examinations for Pakistani workers bound for Gulf countries. The Tribunal upheld CCP’s findings of competition law violations but reduced the penalties from Rs. 20 million per medical center and Rs. 10 million per GAMCA to Rs. 2 million per center and Rs. 1 million per GAMCA. The case concerns a captive market of low-income Pakistani laborers — many securing manual jobs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait — who must undergo medical tests at GCC-approved centers before departure. The CCP’s inquiry found that GAMCAs in five regions — Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, and Multan — allocated customers on a rotational basis. This eliminated competition on price and service quality. Workers were bound to a specific center, charged a uniform fee, and in some cases subjected to unnecessary repeat tests for additional payments. The CCP initiated its inquiry on a complaint by the Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters Association (POEPA). The CCP’s investigation concluded that fee fixation, territorial division, and equal allocation of customers by GAMCAs violated Sections 4 of the Competition Act, 2010. Dr. Kabir Sidhu, Chairman CCP, warned business associations against facilitating collusive practices, price fixing, or allocation of business quotas. He stressed that such platforms should be used to promote sectoral growth, enhancing competition, and to benefit consumers. Any anti-competitive conduct will be dealt with strictly under the competition law.