Islamabad: Sugar millers in Pakistan are once again facing scrutiny over alleged cartelisation, as the Supreme Court has sent the long-running sugar cartel case back to the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) for a fresh hearing, reports The Economic Times.
The decision came after the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and other millers filed appeals against a CAT judgment that had annulled the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) chairperson’s use of a casting vote in adjudicatory proceedings.
In its detailed judgment, authored by Justice Shakil Ahmed, the Supreme Court upheld the tribunal’s finding that the CCP chairperson cannot exercise a casting vote in quasi-judicial matters, calling it inconsistent with Article 10-A of the Constitution, which ensures the right to a fair trial.
However, the court set aside CAT’s earlier direction for the CCP chairperson or any commission member to rehear the case. Instead, it ordered the tribunal itself to hear the matter again and decide the appeal within 90 days.
The court clarified that Section 24(5) of the Competition Act, which allows a casting vote, applies only to the administrative or internal affairs of the commission, not to its adjudicatory decisions.
The case dates back to a CCP inquiry in 2020 into a sharp rise in sugar prices, which found that several major mills had formed a cartel to manipulate prices. The commission subsequently imposed penalties worth billions of rupees.
In 2021, a four-member CCP bench issued a split decision—two members upheld the penalties, while two opposed them. To break the tie, the chairperson used a casting vote in favor of upholding the penalties.
The PSMA and other sugar mills challenged this before the appellate tribunal, which ruled in May 2025 that the casting vote could not be used in adjudicatory proceedings, thereby setting aside the penalties. Both sides later appealed to the Supreme Court.
With the Supreme Court’s latest order, the Competition Appellate Tribunal will now reexamine the case and deliver a final verdict after giving all parties a full opportunity to be heard.
