Business
Tribunal upholds decision in LDI case | The Express Tribune
ISLAMABAD:
The Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) decision to penalise Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and other Long Distance International (LDI) operators for entering into an anti-competitive International Clearing House (ICH) agreement. These companies have been directed to deposit the fine within 30 days.
The total turnover of PTCL and other LDI operators amounts to Rs11 billion and they have been directed to deposit 2% of the turnover within a month.
While upholding the CCP’s findings, the tribunal reduced the penalty from 7.5% to 2% of the turnover generated from ICH-related activity. It said that if the operators failed to deposit the penalty within 30 days, it would automatically reinstate the original 7.5% fine.
The ICH agreement, signed in 2012, routed all incoming international calls through a single gateway operated by PTCL as the head of LDI consortium. All other LDI operators assigned their termination rights to the consortium, and traffic and revenues were shared on a quota basis rather than through competition.
The arrangement fixed termination rates at around 8.8 US cents per minute, up from about 2 cents earlier, effectively eliminating competition and reducing consumer choice.
Data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) showed that the incoming call volume dropped 70%, from 1.9 billion minutes in September 2012 to 579 million minutes in February 2013. Despite the sharp decline in traffic, the LDI operators’ revenue surged 308%.
In April 2013, the CCP declared the ICH a cartel arrangement involving price fixing and market sharing. It imposed penalties of 7.5% of the annual turnover (approximately Rs11 billion) on each LDI operator and directed the PTA to restore competition to pre-ICH levels. The ICH policy was subsequently withdrawn in June 2014.
During proceedings, the LDI operators claimed they entered into the ICH agreement on directives from the Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT) and the PTA, arguing that non-compliance would have risked the loss of their licences. However, the tribunal found no genuine state compulsion and ruled that records showed that the LDI operators had lobbied themselves for the ICH policy.
The MOIT had no authority under the Telecom Act, 1996 to issue directives to the operators and its powers were limited to issuing policy directives to the PTA.
The tribunal noted that even if the directives had been given, the operators were fully aware that the ICH violated competition laws, as evidenced by their earlier application for exemption under Section 5 of the Competition Act. The agreement, it held, restricted competition, prevented new entrants and clearly fell within the CCP jurisdiction.
The ruling reaffirmed that the Competition Act, 2010 applies to all undertakings, including the regulators and government bodies. The tribunal stated that even the PTA could be held liable, if found guilty of restricting or reducing competition.
PTCL had argued that the CCP should have conducted an inquiry before issuing a show-cause notice. The tribunal rejected this, saying that an inquiry is not necessary in every case, particularly where facts are admitted. The LDI operators had already acknowledged the existence of the ICH agreement, which was the root cause of the violation.
1729471601-0/image-(8)1729471601-0-640x480.webp "Pakistan’s crisis differs from world | The Express Tribune")
New Delhi: Several crucial deadlines have been extended in December 2025, including ITR for tax audit cases, ITR filing and PAN and Aadhaar linking. These deadlines will be crucial in ensuring that your financial affairs operate smoothly in the months ahead.
Here is a quick rundown of the important deadlines for December to help you stay compliant and avoid last-minute hassles.
ITR deadline for tax audit cases
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date of furnishing of return of income under sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2025-26 which is October 31, 2025 in the case of assessees referred in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act, to December 10, 2025.
Belated ITR filing deadline
A belated ITR filing happens when an ITR is submitted after the original due date which is permitted by Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act. Filing a belated return helps you meet your tax obligations, but it involves penalties. You can only file a belated return for FY 2024–25 until December 31, 2025. However, there will be a late fee and interest charged.
PAN and Aadhaar linking deadline
The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline to link their PAN with Aadhaar card to December 31, 2025 for anyone who acquired their PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID before October 1, 2024. If you miss this deadline your PAN will become inoperative which will have an impact on your banking transactions, income tax return filing and other financial investments.
Business
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Stock Market News Live Updates: Indian equity benchmarks opened with a strong gap-up on Monday, December 1, touching fresh record highs, buoyed by a sharp acceleration in Q2FY26 GDP growth to a six-quarter peak of 8.2%. Positive cues from Asian markets further lifted investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was trading at 85,994, up 288 points or 0.34%, after touching an all-time high of 86,159 in early deals. The Nifty 50 stood at 26,290, higher by 87 points or 0.33%, after scaling a record intraday high of 26,325.8.
Broader markets also saw gains, with the Midcap index rising 0.27% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.52%.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank hit a historic milestone by crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time, gaining 0.4% to touch a fresh peak of 60,114.05.
Meanwhile, the Metal and PSU Bank indices climbed 0.8% each in early trade.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as traders assessed fresh Chinese manufacturing data and increasingly priced in the likelihood of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now assigning an 87.4 per cent probability to a rate cut at the Fed’s December 10 meeting.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped back into contraction in November, with the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI by S&P Global easing to 49.9, below expectations of 50.5, as weak domestic demand persisted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix declined 0.86 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.30 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.31 per cent.
US stock futures were steady in early Asian trade after a positive week on Wall Street. On Friday, in a shortened post-Thanksgiving session, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65 per cent to 23,365.69, its fifth consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to 6,849.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.30 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 47,716.42.
Osmond ChiaBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesSouth Korea’s largest online retailer, Coupang, has apologised for a massive data breach potentially involving nearly 34 million local customer accounts.
The country’s internet authority said that it is investigating the breach and that details from the millions of accounts have likely been exposed.
Coupang is often described as South Korea’s equivalent of Amazon.com. The breach marks the latest in a series of data leaks at major firms in the country, including its telecommunications giant, SK Telecom.
Coupang told the BBC it became aware of the unauthorised access of personal data of about 4,500 customer accounts on 18 November and immediately reported it to the authorities.
But later checks found that some 33.7 million customer accounts – all in South Korea – were likely exposed, said Coupang, adding that the breach is believed to have begun as early as June through a server based overseas.
The exposed data is limited to name, email address, phone number, shipping address and some order histories, Coupang said.
No credit card information or login credentials were leaked. Those details remain securely protected and no action is required from Coupang users at this point, the firm added.
The number of accounts affected by the incident represents more than half of South Korea’s roughly-52 million population.
Coupang, which is founded in South Korea and headquartered in the US, said recently that it had nearly 25 million active users.
Coupang apologised to its customers and warned them to stay alert to scams impersonating the company.
The firm did not give details on who is behind the breach.
South Korean media outlets reported on Sunday that a former Coupang employee from China was suspected of being behind the breach.
The authorities are assessing the scale of the breach as well as whether Coupang had broken any data protection safety rules, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.
“As the breach involves the contact details and addresses of a large number of citizens, the Commission plans to conduct a swift investigation and impose strict sanctions if it finds a violation of the duty to implement safety measures under the Protection Act.”
The incident marks the latest in a series of breaches affecting major South Korean companies this year, despite the country’s reputation for stringent data privacy rules.
SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile operator, was fined nearly $100m (£76m) over a data breach involving more than 20 million subscribers.
In September, Lotte Cards also said the data of nearly three million customers was leaked after a cyber-attack on the credit card firm.
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Key Financial Deadlines That Have Been Extended For December 2025; Know The Last Date
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