Competition Commission settles 24 cases in a year

In a bid to fast track pending cases filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the Indian anti-trust body, 24 cases have been cleared by the watchdog within a year.

The average time to clear cartel-related cases is 2-6 years globally by agencies such as European Commission’s cartel department, according to the industry sources.

The Competition Commission had 94 cases, 50 from its predecessor- the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) and 44 fresh cases.

In one case, a case file by Kolkata-based Tata Metaliks against government’s vendor selection procedure alleged that the selection process required an ISI mark on pipes for government-related work.

According to CCI sources, the agency decided against the company as it was in “public interest to use ISI marked pipes”. Also, recently CCI settled the case of Cinergy Pictures, the producers of Hindi movie Rann, against a TV channel accusing them of rating the film poorly as the ad deal between the two failed.

However, the complaint lodged by Multiplex Association of India (MAI) against film producers alleging cartelisation is still pending for more than a year.

“It is a complex case and has 24 respondents, so it takes time to communicate with all of them. Two of the respondents have filed a case in Bombay high court, so both the cases are overlapping, but we are deep into the case and expect it to be completed in the next three months,” a senior CCI official told DNA.

Another important case under investigation is about New Delhi’s power distribution companies overcharging 90% of their customers. The initial investigation found that most of the electric meters put up by BSES and NDPL are fast running.