Lok Sabha Question No. 1950 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Abuse of Dominant Position by Company
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Margani Bharat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1950 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 14 TH  MARCH, 2022 [PHALGUNA 23, 1943 (SAKA)]

## ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION BY COMPANY

## QUESTION

1950. SHRI MARGANI BHARAT:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that abuse of dominant position by any company, including e-commerce company, is in violation of the Companies Act;
- (b) if  so,  whether  the  Competition  Commission  of  India  (CCI)  has received any complaints against companies including e-commerce companies  for  abusing  their  dominant  position  and  anti-competitive practices during the last three years;
- (c) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  action  taken  by  CCI  and status of cases, if any, filed by CCI or the Ministry; and
- (d) the steps taken by CCI and the Ministry to control such companies?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS.

(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a): Section  4  of  the  Competition  Act,  2002  ('Act')  prohibits  abuse  of dominant position by enterprises or their groups.  E-commerce companies are covered within the ambit of the provisions of the Act.

(b) & (c): The  Competition  Commission  of  India  ('Commission')  has received cases against companies (including e-commerce companies) for alleged  abuse  of  dominant  position  and  anti-competitive  practices.  The details  of  cases  received  against  companies  (including  e-commerce companies) during the last three years including the present year are as under:

| Particulars                   |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22* |
|-------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------|
| Cases pending at beginning of |       210 |       188 |       155 |        140 |
| Cases received during year    |        68 |        60 |        55 |         57 |
| Total                         |       278 |       248 |       210 |        197 |
| Cases decided during the year |        90 |        93 |        70 |         67 |

* Data as on 28.02.2022

As  on  28.02.2022,  the  Commission  has  received  a  total  of  1180  cases under  Sections  3  and  4  of  the  Act.    Of  these,  1046  cases  have  been disposed  of  and  04  cases  have  been  quashed/  set  aside  by  the  Courts. Thus, 88.64% of the total cases filed so far stand disposed of.

(d): The Commission has been undertaking various initiatives from time to time to ensure effective competition and fair play in the market.  These, inter-alia, include conducting market studies on relevant sectors, undertaking competition assessment of Model Concession Agreements in the  infrastructure  and  other  public  delivery  sectors,  advocacy  outreach initiatives  including  State  Resource  Person  Schemes  and  conducting roadshows on competition laws & practices, upgradation of IT infrastructure and increased use of technology in functioning, opening of regional  offices,  introduction  of  green  channel  for  certain  combination notifications,  collaboration  with  other  international  anti-trust  authorities etc.  The Commission in the recent past had undertaken a 'Market Study on  E-Commerce  in  India'  to  better  understand  the  functioning  of  ecommerce in India and its implications for markets and competition. The Report  enumerates  certain  areas  for  self-regulation  by  the  e-commerce platforms.  These  include  transparency  in  search  ranking  parameters, clear  and  transparent  policy  on  the  actual  and  potential  use  of  data collected  by  platforms;  adequate  transparency  over  user  review  and rating  mechanisms;  notification  to  business  users  regarding  proposed revision in contract terms; and clear and transparent policies on discounts including discount rate and participation in discount schemes.

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