CCI closes case against Petroleum&Natural Gas regulator

The Competition Commission has rejected a complaint which alleged that certain rules framed by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board could lead to unfair trade practices in gas distribution network space.

In an order released today, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has closed the matter against the petroleum and natural gas sector regulator, as the complaint was beyond the scope of its jurisdiction.

According to CCI the complainant "should approach an appropriate forum if he has grievance in respect of the scope of powers of the board (Petroleum and Natural Gas)".

As per the complaint the board has the power to grant authorisation to build, lay, operate and expand natural gas distribution networks in 'City Gas Distribution areas (CGD)' through bid rounds.

It was alleged that norms related to gas distribution have been simplified in such a manner that these could be exploited by established CGD firms to keep new players away.

Further, the complaint stated that the rules encouraged "abuse of dominant position held by the established entities, restrict competition, induce formation of cartel and escalate cost of bid bonds to unacceptable levels without benefiting the consumers and unnecessarily increasing CGD project cost".