Islamabad (News Desk) The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has dismissed an appeal filed by Reckitt Benckiser in the Strepsils case on grounds of non-prosecution. The company’s counsel sought an adjournment, claiming he was abroad, but the Tribunal rejected the request, noting that a similar excuse had been given at the previous hearing. Earlier, the bench had imposed a Rs50,000 fine on the counsel for failing to appear. With no representation once again, the appeal was dismissed.
Reckitt Benckiser had challenged a 2021 decision by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) that imposed a Rs150 million penalty for misleading advertising that suggested Strepsils was a medicated treatment for sore throats.
Meanwhile, the Tribunal heard several other significant competition cases. It admitted individual appeals filed by eight poultry hatcheries recently fined Rs155 million by the CCP for anti-competitive practices in the sale of day-old chicks, scheduling regular hearings for September 10, 2025.
