Competion Commission fines 14 car makers

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) Monday levied a penalty of Rs.2,544.65 crore on 14 car manufacturers for violating the competition law.

The CCI's hefty penalty came after it found that these car makers have restrictive practices that prevent independent repairers coming into the market.

India's Tata Motors Ltd suffered the highest penalty of Rs.1,346.46 crore, followed by Maruti Suzuki (Rs.471.14 crore), Mahindra & Mahindra (Rs.292.25 crore) and General Motors (Rs.84.58 crore).

The other car companies that have been penalised are: Honda Siel, Volkswagen India, Fiat India, BMW India, Ford India, Hindustan Motors, Mercedes Benz, Nissan Motor, Skoda Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar India.

The CCI also directed the companies to immediately cease and desist from indulging in conduct which has been found to be in contravention of the provisions of the Competition Act.

It also directed the car companies to put in place an effective system to make the spare parts and diagnostic tools easily available through an efficient network.

The car makers are also directed to make available in public domain information regarding the spare parts, the retail price, arrangements for availability over the counter, and details of matching quality alternatives, maintenance costs, provisions regarding warranty including those mentioned above, and any such other information which may be relevant for full exercise of consumer choice and facilitate fair competition in the market.

The car companies are also directed not to impose blanket condition that warranties would be cancelled if the consumer avails of services of any independent repairer.