CCI rules 3rd lesser penalty case for cartelisation in dry-cell battery market

The Competition Commission decided not to levy penalty on Panasonic Energy India Co Ltd in a cartelisation case related to the dry-cell market, invoking the Lesser Penalty provisions for the third time for the segment, a release said.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed a final order imposing penalty on Panasonic Energy India Co. Limited and Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Limited for colluding to fix prices of zinc-carbon dry cell batteries in India, the Corporate Affairs Ministry said Thursday.

In respect of Panasonic, the CCI granted 100 per cent reduction in penalty by invoking the provisions of Section 46 of the Competition Act, 2002.

Under the Section 46 of the Act, an applicant is eligible to get the penalty reduced up to 100 per cent in cartelisation cases if the entity makes a vital disclosure by submitting evidence of a cartel under Lesser Penalty norms.

The competition watchdog imposed a penalty of Rs 31.76 crore on Panasonic and Rs 85 lakh on Godrej and Boyce, according to the ministry.

The penalty on Panasonic was levied at the rate of 1.5 times of its profit for each year from January 2012 to November 2014, and on Godrej at the rate of 4 per cent of its turnover for each year from January 2012 to November 2014, the ministry said.

It, however, said that the penalty on Panasonic was waived under the Lesser Penalty Regulations of the the Competition Act, 2002.