CCP fines Kingdom Valley Rs150m for ‘misleading advertising’

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a penalty of Rs150 million on Kingdom Valley housing society for false and misleading advertisements.

The action was taken after the commission’s Office of Fair Trade initiated an investigation and took notice.

In a statement, the commission stated that the Kingdom Valley Pvt Ltd falsely advertised its project as Kingdom Valley Islamabad, despite it being located in Mouza Choora, tehsil & district Rawalpindi.

The CCP also found that the company misrepresented affiliations with the Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP) and Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA).

The commission stated that the housing society publicised the project as “NOC Approved” without accurate or complete disclosure regarding its approval status.

Furthermore, the CCP stated that the Commission bench, comprising Saeed Ahmed Nawaz and Abdul Rashid Sheikh, concluded that the company had violated Sections 10(2)(a) and 10(2)(b) of the Competition Act, 2010, which prohibit the dissemination of false or misleading information to consumers.

Consequently, the companied imposed a fine of Rs75 million for each violation, amounting to a total fine of Rs150 million.

In addition, the commission noted serious non-compliance, including the company’s failure to submit audited financial statements and non-compliance with CCP’s directives.

The company has also not filed financials with the SECP for several years, raising concerns about its governance and transparency, added the statement.