Applicable Act: The Competition Act, 2002 (The Act)
ALLEGATIONS
A complaint filed by the Informant alleged that the firms had imposed exorbitant, unfair and discriminatory prices which were possible only due to the dominant position enjoyed by them in the liquor market in the country.
BRIEF OF FACTS
The Defendant, headquartered in the United Kingdom is engaged in the production, sale, marketing and distribution of spirit. It offers scotch whisky, single malts, handcrafted single malts, gin and other spirit. The Informant is an exclusive distributor of the Defendant.
It was alleged that the Defendant permitted import of their products into India through a number of entities such as Delhi Duty Free Services and other private companies, at prices much lower than those charged from the Informant.
CCI noted that the firms which were the third largest producer of 'scotch whiskey' had around 10 percent market share after Diageo and Pernod Richard in the world. For the Indian market, CCI noted that United Spirits Ltd. (USL) held more than 50 percent of the market share in whiskeys followed by various other alcoholic beverages manufacturing companies. The percentage of imported liquor in India is very minimal, around 3 percent.
CONCLUSION
Therefore, considering the above scenario, the CCI concluded that the Defendant were not dominant in any of the alternative relevant market definitions and therefore the issue of abuse would not arise.
DECISION
The fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed charges of abuse of dominant position under Section 4 of the Act against the Defendant's three group firms with respect to purchase and sale of liquor in India.