ISLAMABAD – The Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) has upheld the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) order against 20 medical centres and laboratories and their five associations for competition law violations.
These centres were found guilty of collusive price fixing and territorial allocations while performing mandatory pre-departure medical examinations of Pakistani workers intending to leave for Gulf countries.
The Tribunal upheld CCP’s findings of competition law violations but reduced the penalties from PKR 20 million per medical centre and PKR 10 million per Gulf Approved Medical Centres Administrative Offices (GAMCAs) to PKR 2 million per centre and PKR 1 million per GAMCA.
Low-income Pakistani labourers, many securing manual jobs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait, needed to undergo medical tests at GCC-approved centres before departure.
As per a CCP press release, the 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 centre, 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 Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010.
Dr. Kabir Sidhu, Chairman of 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 benefit consumers. Any anti-competitive conduct will be dealt with strictly under the competition law.
