The Relevance Of 'Relevant Market' In Digital Market Under Competition Law In India

The Indian Market paradigm has undergone a sea change over the past decade. The digital market has had a profound impact on competition laws and has witnessed a metamorphosis. Digitalization has led to a new trends and development in the commercial practice and has caused a redeployment of competitive forces. This reprisal of market power has lead proactive steps in the market disruption. For Instance, the German Federal Cartel Office has set up a "Task Force for Internet Platforms"...

Deal Value Threshold In India's Data Driven Market

The much-awaited Competition law Amendment Bill 2020 was released for public comments in late February. One of the significant proposals in the Bill is that it enables the CCI and Central government to define new thresholds for merger notification by insertion of a proviso to Section 5. It enables the CCI to introduce sector-specific thresholds like deal- value thresholds. The objective behind the deal value threshold is to capture the acquisitions between the players in the digital...

Monsanto v. CCI – A Critique of Delhi High Court's Judgment

Introduction A Single Bench of the High Court of Delhi gave its judgement in Monsanto Holdings Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. v. Competition Commission of India & Ors. on 20th May 2020, dealing with the question of overlap of jurisdiction between the Competition Commission and the Patents Controller. This paper aims to present a critique of the judgement by analysing the core arguments and examining the conflict between Competition Act, 2002. and the Patents Act, 1970. While one perception regarding...

[Breaking] Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal Resigns As Judge Of Delhi HC; Set To Take Charge As President, Delhi SCDRC

[Updated]The Central Government on Thursday accepted the resignation tendered by Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, judge of Delhi High Court with effect from May 30."Smt. Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal has tendered her resignation from the office of Judge, Delhi High Court, in pursuance of proviso (a) to clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution, with effect from 30 May, 2020", said a notification issued by the Department of Justice on Thursday.She joined the Delhi High Court as additional...

Monsanto Bt Cotton: Delhi HC Holds That CCI 's Jurisdiction To Hear Complaints Regarding Abuse of Dominance In Respect To Patent Rights Not Excluded [Read Judgment]

While highlighting that there's no conflict between the Patents Act and the Competition Act, the Delhi High Court has held that the jurisdiction of the CCI to entertain complaints regarding abuse of dominance in respect to patent rights could not be excluded. The Single Bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru further noted that the exclusionary clause under section 3(5) of the Competition Act cannot allow the patentee to include onerous conditions under the guise of protecting its rights. ...

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...