35 cartel cases under CCI radar in the last five years: FM Sitharaman

In the last five years, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has investigated 35 cartel cases in sectors including health, railways, financial services, iron and steel, among others, according to a Lok Sabha reply by Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Nearly half the cases were in the miscellaneous category.

 

Of the total 35 cases, 21 cartel matters were sent for investigation to the director general’s office in the last three financial years — FY22 to FY25.

 

Investigation reports in 11 cases have been received by the Commission and 10 are still under probe. A final order has been passed in only one case, while the other 10 are before the antitrust regulator for consideration.

 

The CCI is currently investigating allegations of cartelisation in the advertising industry and has raided several firms in the past week to gather evidence.

 

The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, introduced the concept of a “lesser penalty plus” mechanism to incentivise disclosure of cartels. The mechanism was introduced to encourage an existing lesser penalty applicant in respect of a cartel to give full, true, and vital disclosures about another cartel that was not in the knowledge of the CCI.

 

To further widen the scope of cartel investigations, the hub-and-spoke mechanism has also been introduced. Through this, an enterprise not engaged in identical or similar trade shall also be presumed to be part of the agreement if it participates or intends to participate in the furtherance of such an agreement that promotes cartelisation.