CCI against media anti-trust body

Objects to Trai's proposal; says it doesn't have any enabling legislative mandate

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has objected to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)’s proposal  to create a parallel and conflicting competition regime for the media and broadcasting sector.

CCI recently wrote to the corporate affairs ministry objecting to Trai’s proposal, saying Trai had talked about such a regime in its consultation papers on media ownership and market dominance in cable television services, floated last year to seek comments from the industry stakeholders. CCI said Trai’s proposal doesn’t have any enabling legislative mandate.

The competition watchdog asked the corporate affairs ministry to take up the matter with the ministry of information and broadcasting and ask Trai to put on hold the consultation papers till necessary changes are made to avoid any jurisdictional overlap and potential conflict between two sector regulators.

CCI also noted section 21 and 21A in the Competition Act, 2002, allows Trai and CCI to refer any matter between themselves, if needed.

At present, CCI is the only agency that has the powers to effectively deal with the anti-competition practices adopted by the entities in all sectors, including media and broadcasting.

CCI said the consultation papers, if implemented, would “create regulatory uncertainty and a veritable chaos in the regulatory cosmos, besides creating avenues for regulatory arbitrage and forum shopping. It would be wholly arbitrary and inequitable to saddle contravening party with two potential penalties for the same conduct.”

It said if Trai’s consultation is implemented and regulations are allowed, other sector regulators could follow rendering the “very existence of CCI nugatory, otiose and redundant”.

On the other hand, a GoM (Group of Ministers) is currently looking into the changes required in the Competition Act. The thinking within the government is to encourage the CCI with the exclusive mandate to look into competition concerns in all sectors without admitting any exclusions or exemptions, CCI said in the communication to the corporate affairs ministry.

CCI added that if other sector regulators also assume responsibilities of enforcement of competition laws, then such a structure would be tantamount to duplication of efforts, jurisdictional overlap and unnecessary expenditure of public funds with no tangible benefits. Also, it could result in multiplicity of cases and consequential delays in the proceedings before various tribunals and courts, it noted.