NSE moves Appellate Tribunal against CCI order

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) today approached the Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) against a Competition Commission of India's (CCI) order that pronounced it guilty of abusing market dominance and imposed a Rs 55.5 crore fine on the the bourse.

In its appeal before Compat, the NSE has asserted that the Competition Act did not envisage low price, which is not predatory, as an abuse of dominance, sources said.

NSE has further told the tribunal that the order from CCI was "antithetical" or contradictory to the principal purpose of the Competition Act, which was to protect and promote consumer welfare.

In its order dated June 23, CCI had imposed Rs 55.5 crore fine on NSE for abusing its dominant market position and asked the bourse to stop unfair trade practices like subsidising its services with a zero-price regime in currency derivatives segment.

Imposing a penalty equivalent to 5% of the bourse's three-year average turnover, CCI had said that there was "a clear intention on the part of NSE to eliminate competitors in the relevant market".

The CCI order followed months-long probe by it into the matter after a complaint from NSE's younger rival MCX-SX.