By way of a September 7 2017 order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed claims against Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation for abuse of its dominant position.(1)
VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd alleged that Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, which floated tenders for procuring bus chassis, had procured such products in an unfair and discriminatory manner. It also alleged that the transport company had extended preferential treatment towards Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland pursuant to a tacit agreement.
Examining the claims under Section 4 of the Competition Act, the CCI found the relevant market to be the "procurement of bus chassis in India". It noted that the defendant's share in this market was less than 6.7%. Therefore, as a buyer, it was not in a position of strength. In addition, the CCI found that there were numerous private bus transport operators buying bus chassis. Therefore, since the defendant held no dominant position in the relevant market, the CCI did not assess the abuse of dominance claims under Section 4 of the act.
Further, the CCI held that the defendant was neither horizontally nor vertically related to Tata Motors or Ashok Leyland. Therefore, no violation of Sections 3(3) or (4) of the Competition Act could have occurred. The case was closed under Section 26(2) of the act.
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Endnotes
(1) CCI decision, September 7 2017. For the full text please see the CCI website.
