The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has penalised Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Pakistan, the maker of the famous Dettol soap, with a fine of Rs. 15 million for deceptive marketing and violating Section 10 of the Competition Act.
According to a press release, the Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) findings in the appeal filed by Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Pakistan regarding deceptive marketing practices for its flagship product, ‘Dettol’.
The Commission received a formal complaint from Unilever Pakistan alleging that RB had carried out a misleading, deceptive, unsubstantiated, and unethical advertising campaign for its product “Dettol Soap” through print and electronic media.
Following an inquiry, it was concluded that RB failed to substantiate the claims made in its advertisement specifically that Dettol Soap kills up to 99.9% of germs and provides 24-hour protection against germs, colds, and flu. Consequently, RB was found to be engaged in deceptive marketing practices in violation of the Competition Act of 2010.
In its order on December 26 2019, the CCP concurred with the findings of the inquiry committee and found RB liable for distributing false and misleading information that was capable of harming the business interests of other undertakings as well as distributing information to consumers lacking reasonable basis with respect to the characters, properties and quality of its products. For violations, the CCP imposed a penalty of Rs 30 million on RB.
RB filed an appeal against the CCP’s order with the Competition Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal upheld the findings of the CCP regarding RB’s violations of Section 10 of the Act. However, it reduced the penalty to Rs 15 million.
