In the Indian Jurisdiction, Item I of Schedule I of the 2011 Combination Regulations exempts minority investments made “solely for investment purpose” and not leading to a change of control from notifying to the Competition Commission. However, the exact standard for assessment of the investment purpose and nature of conduct inconsistent with the exception is…
Indian sectoral regulators were vested with competition-related powers on account of an economic wisdom which favoured regulation, which has started to lose its relevance since the development of the competition law regime. Despite this, the Indian courts have resolved the issue of jurisdictional duplicity by excluding the competition authority, instead of the sectoral regulators. This…
Competition law (especially merger control regime) is a relatively new area of law in India, and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been tasked with the duty of its enforcement in India. Similar to most other jurisdictions, the merger control regime in India is suspensory in nature, i.e. the parties to a combination (transactions…
In its decision passed on February 8, 2018 the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of INR 135.86 crores (approximately $1.36 bn) on Google for abusing its dominant position by engaging in search bias vis-à-vis Google flights service and imposing unfair terms in the intermediation agreements with website owners incorporating Google’s search…
After almost a decade of active enforcement, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on June 14, 2017 came out with its first ever decision finding an enterprise to be indulging in Resale Price Maintenance (RPM).[1]F/X Enterprise and Hyundai (Case No. 36 of 2014) with St. Antony’s Cars and Hyundai (Case No. 82 of 2014) http://www.cci.gov.in/sites/default/files/36%20and%2082%20of%202014.pdf…
On the 10th of July 2015, the CCI fined four public sector insurance companies (National Insurance Company Ltd., New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., and United India Insurance Co. Ltd.) for bid-rigging This fine arose in the context of the selection of an insurance provider with respect to the implementation of the…
I thank my friend and senior, Sahithya Murali, for meaningful suggestions on a draft of this blog. I. Introduction The car spare-parts market in India is a closed one, because car manufacturers mandate that the authorized dealers source their spare parts only from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or the approved vendors, and the…
As part of any antitrust/competition analysis, one pertinent question that arises is the decision whether there is a single market that includes both, the equipment and its complimentary products and services, or separate markets, ergo, “primary market” for equipment and one or more “aftermarkets” or “secondary markets” for complementary products or services supplied by both…
India’s competition authority (the CCI) imposed a record-breaking fine of US$750,000 (50 million rupees) on General Electric (GE) earlier this year for failing to notify its tie-up with Alstom S.A. within the deadline required by the country’s merger control rules. The CCI is increasingly active in enforcing its merger regime. Since GE’s case, the CCI…
The OECD describes a JV as a situation where participating firms agree by contract or otherwise to combine, other than by merger, significant productive (tangible or intangible) assets, and to do this by going beyond ad hoc co-operation1. A JV can be formed by incorporation or by contract. Thus under competition law, JVs include a…
