Google Abused Dominant Position Through Restrictive App Store Billing Policy But Didn't Deny Market Access: NCLAT Reduces Penalty From ₹936 Cr To ₹216 Cr

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson) and Mr. Barun Mitra (Technical Member) has partially upheld the decision of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that Google leveraged its dominance in the Play Store ecosystem to promote Google Play which violates section 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act, 2002. The Tribunal however held that there was no violation of section 4(2)(c) as conduct of Google did not deny market...

CCI Imposes ₹40 Lakh Penalty On Goldman Sachs For Failure To Notify Investment In Biocon Biologics U/S 6(2) Of Competition Act

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has penalized Goldman Sachs INR 40 lakh under Section 43A of the Competition Act, 2002, for failing to notify its investment in Biocon Biologics Limited.Background FactsGoldman Sachs AIF Scheme-1 (GS AIF) executed a Securities Subscription Agreement and a Shareholders Agreement (SHA) on 7.11.2020, and closed the transaction on 9.12.2020. Under the SHA, GS AIF gained Reserved Matter Rights, Information Rights and Access Rights. GS AIF is an investment...

IBC | For Resolution Plan Involving Combination, Prior Approval Of Competition Commission Mandatory Before CoC Examination : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on January 29, by 2:1 majority, observed that a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, containing a proposed combination(a merger or amalgamation of entities), should only be placed before the Committee of Creditors (CoC), after it has been approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).In this regard, the Court referred to Section 31(4) proviso of the IBC. This proviso talks about the approval of the resolution plan and its proviso reads as:“Provided...

NCLAT Stays Ban on WhatsApp's Data-Sharing Policy; Orders Meta To Pay 50% Of ₹213 Crore Penalty

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson) and Arun Baroka (Technical Member) has granted partial relief to WhatsApp from the Competition Commission India's (CCI) order against its 2021 privacy policy update.The CCI had banned WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes for 5 years and imposed a Rs. 213.14 crore penalty for violating sections 4(2)(c) and 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act by using its dominant position to...

Competition Commission Closes Complaint Against Honda Motorcycle Filed By Former Dealer, Holds Dispute To Be Commercial In Nature

The Competition Commission of India (Commission) bench, comprising Ms. Ravneet Kaur (Chairperson), Mr. Anil Agrawal (Member), Ms. Sweta Kakkad (Member) and Mr. Deepak Anurag (Member) has closed the complaint filed against Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India by its former dealer. The bench found that the facts of the complaint pertain to commercial disputes arising from the agreement and are not related to anti-competitive practices. Background Facts In 2016, the Informant sought a...

Competition Commission Dismisses Allegations of Bid Rigging In Bareilly Nagar Nigam Tender

The Competition Commission of India presided by Mr. Ravneet Kaur, Mr. Anil Agrawal, Ms. Shweta Kakkad and Mr. Deepak Anurag rejected allegations of anti-competitive practices in the tender process of Bareilly Nagar Nigam and found no merit in the bid rigging complaint. Brief Facts of the Case The informant, Mr. Harish Kumar, is engaged in the business of advertisement and publicity. He alleged bid rigging and anti-competitive practices in a tender floated by Bareilly Nagar Nigam...

Competition Commission Dismisses Abuse Of Dominance Complaint Against Indian Rare Earths India Limited

The Competition Commission of India (Commission) bench, comprising Ms. Ravneet Kaur (Chairperson), Ms. Sweta Kakkad (Member), Anil Agrawal (Member) and Mr. Deepak Anurag (Member), has determined that although Indian Rare Earths India Limited (IREL) has dominant position in the mining and sale of Beach Sand Sillimanite market in India, it has not abused the dominant position. Submissions of Informant The Informant mentioned that Sillimanite which is produced from beach sand, comes in...

Jurisdiction Of Competition Commission Not Excluded Merely Because Actionable Info Relates To A Patent: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the jurisdiction of Competition Commission of India is not ousted merely because the information on which it seeks to initiate an enquiry relates to a patent.A single bench of Justice Yashwant Varma held that so long as the CCI is duly and statutorily empowered to deal with all information which it may receive with respect to actions that may (i) impede competition, (ii) usher in an anti-competitive environment, (iii) relate to abuse of dominant position or...

Leniency Regime In India

A leniency programme is a type of whistleblower protection, i.e., an official system of providing leniency to a cartel member who reports the cartel to the Commission. In exchange for immunity or lenient treatment, competition authorities have devised a variety of leniency programmes to encourage and incentivize various actors involved in the commission of such competition infringements to come forward and disclose such anticompetitive agreements and assist the competition authorities. The...

CCI's Investigation Against Debenture Trustee's Unit Of Banks – A Case Of Concurrent Jurisdiction

The Competition Commission of India's (CCI) recent investigation into the Trustee Association of India (TAI) and debenture trustee units of State Bank of India, Axis Bank and IDBI Bank for collusion in respect of charging high fees for issuing debt and due-diligence checks has raised jurisdictional conflicts over the sectoral regulator -SEBI, and the market regulator - CCI. The CCI, in its prima facie confidential order, noted that the TAI and SBICAP Trustee Company Ltd, Axis Trustee...

Antitrust Enforcement In Digital Markets: CCI On Interim Reliefs

Recently, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a Delhi-based think tank with members from India's start-ups and entrepreneurs, filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) seeking interim relief against Google's policy of collecting commission on payments made on Playstore apps, which takes effect in March 2022. The CCI has the authority to grant interim relief under section 33 of the Competition Act, 2002 (the Act). The Act's ability to give interim...

Antitrust Enforcement In Digital Markets: CCI On Interim Reliefs

Recently, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a Delhi-based think tank with members from India's start-ups and entrepreneurs, filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) seeking interim relief against Google's policy of collecting commission on payments made on Playstore apps, which takes effect in March 2022. The CCI has the authority to grant interim relief under section 33 of the Competition Act, 2002 (the Act). The Act's ability to give interim...