Draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Welcome Changes And Missed Opportunities

The draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020 ("Bill") was released on 12 February 2020 suggesting a variety of amendments to the Competition Act, 2002 ("Act") after a gap of almost 13 years. The last major amendments to the Act took place in 2007. The Bill is largely based on a report dated July 2019 prepared by the Competition Law Review Committee ("CLRC") set up in October 2018 to review the Act and suggest changes to make the competition regime more effective. While the original...

Competition Policy Amid COVID-19

Introduction In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the consequent impact being felt by the economy, the Finance Ministry recently announced a detailed policy providing number of relaxations to individuals and companies from statutory and regulatory compliance under various legislations ranging from the Income Tax Act to the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code. Surprisingly, one area was left untouched: Competition Law. A number of jurisdictions around the world have announced...

NCLAT Upholds Penalty Imposed By CCI On Adani Gas

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal dismissed an appeal filed by Adani Gas Limited (AGL) challenging an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) where it had imposed a penalty of around 26 crores or 4% of the average annual turnover of the relevant three years. The court further upheld that AGL had abused its dominant market position by imposing unfair conditions on its buyers under a Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) in Faridabad. Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice...

CCI Orders Probe Against Amazon & Flipkart For Alleged Violations Of Competition Law [Read Order]

In a set-back to Amazon and Flipkart, the Competition Commission of India on Monday directed the Director General to probe the allegations of violation of Competition Act by these e-commerce giants.The order was passed by the Commission on a prima facie finding that the Amazon and Flipkart were giving undue promotion to some sellers over other smaller sellers.The complaint was filed by a group of small and medium sized retailers named 'Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh' which alleged that these...

Scope Of Investigation By DG Not Limited To Prima Facie Opinion Expressed By CCI Under S. 26 of Competition Act: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court on Thursday held that the scope of the investigation conducted by the Director-General on directions received under Section 26 of the Competition Act, 2002, is not limited to the prima facie opinion expressed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). "The investigation has to be a comprehensive one. The DG may not, in fact, be able to anticipate what information may emerge during such investigation. Merely because the information that emerges does not pertain...

Delay Or Insufficiency Of Services Are Not Issues Under The Competition Act: CCI

The Competition Commission of India has held that elements of anti-competitive agreement and abuse of dominant position stand on a higher platform than deficiency in services, thus such inefficiency in services will not form a competition issue. The observation was made by the Commission on a complaint by the National Consumers Co-operative Federation of India Limited (Informant) under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 ("Act") against New Town Electric Supply Company...

Abuse On Account Of Collective Dominance Not Recognized By Indian Competition Regime: CCI Dismisses Allegation Of Cartelization By Telugu Film Producers [Read Order]

The competition commission of India has dismissed a complaint filed by Ashok Kumar Vallabhaneni, a Telugu Film & T.V. serial producer and distributor of dubbed Telugu movies against various studios engaged in the business of production and distribution of movies in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Ashok Kumar (Informant) had purchased the distribution and exhibition rights for the dubbed version of the Tamil movie 'Petta' in Telugu language, in States of Andhra Pradesh and...

CCI Directs DG To Probe If Intel Abused Its Dominant Position And Denied Market Access

The Competition Commission of India has directed the Director General (DG) to probe into allegations of abuse of dominant position by Intel Corporation and its Indian subsidiary Intel Technology India Private Limited. The decision came on a complaint filed by Matrix Info Systems Pvt. Ltd., (Informant), a Delhi based IT trading company engaged in the business of importing, distributing and supplying a wide range of IT products, under Section 19 (1)(a) (dealing with inquiry into...

CCI Imposes Penalty On LPG Gas Vendors For Cartelization In Bidding Process [Read Order]

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed penalty on 51 vendors for cartelization in the bidding process in supplying LPG Gas Cylinders to HPCL. A further penalty was imposed on 48 vendors for contravention of Section 48(1) of the Competion Act, 2002. The Commission took suo motu cognizance of the case upon receiving an anonymous letter dated 25.04.2013 alleging that a cartel was operating in tenders floated by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. ("HPCL") in contravention of the...

CCI Finds Jaiprakash Associates Abusing Its Dominant Position, Imposes A Penalty Of 14 Crores [Read Order]

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of Rs. 13.82 crores on Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL) for by abusing its dominant position in contravention to the provisions of the Competition Act. The Complaint was filed by one Naveen Kataria against JAL. The Complainant also alleged that the terms and conditions in the Provisional Allotment Letter (PAL) were unfair, one-sided and loaded in favour of JAL ("Opposite Party"). The Informant in February 2019 informed that...

CCI Imposes Rs 2.7 Crore Penalty On 3 Companies For Rigging Tender [Read Order]

The Competition Commission of India held three companies liable for bid-rigging in tender for conducting tree-census in Pune and imposed a penalty of Rs. 2.7 crore on them. Background The Pune Municipal Corporation (OP-4) had been directed by the Bombay HC in PIL No.93/2009 to carry out geo-enabled tree census under the provisions of Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. Consequently, tenders were floated by the Corporation. OP-4 floated four online tenders...

CCI Dismisses Petition Against Multiplexes Alleging Anti-Competitive Practices [Read Order]

Dismissing the allegations leveled by the Informant, Unilazer Ventures Private Limited, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) held that there was no prima facie case of anti-competitive practices against Multiplex Companies/Exhibitors. Background The Informant, a film content creator, alleged four multiplex houses of the country of having indulged in cartelization under the aegis of FICCI Multiplex Association of India in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 of the Competition Act,...