On Monday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of Rs 200 crore on the country’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), for anti-competitive practices related to how it forced dealers to discount cars.
“The CCI passed a final order against MSIL for indulging in anti-competitive conduct of resale price maintenance (RPM) in the passenger vehicle segment by way of implementing discount control policy vis-à-vis dealers, and accordingly, imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore upon MSIL, besides passing a cease-and-desist order,” according to the CCI order.
- India sees minimal impact from US trade policies, but risks persist: UBI Report
- Perplexity in Early Funding Talks at $18 Billion Valuation
- Toyota to Launch First India R&D Hub, Plans 1,000 Engineers & EV Expansion by 2027
- Trump Announces Upcoming US-Ukraine Minerals Deal
- Mazagon Dock, Goa Tie Up for AI-Based Disaster Management; Shares Fall 1%
During the probe, Maruti has more than 50 per cent share of India’s car market, told the regulator that it imposed no such policy and that the dealers were free to offer any discounts they wished to their customers, the order said.
The CCI order, however, contained extracts of several emails exchanged between dealers and Maruti officials, which made it “evident that the discount control policy was controlled” by Maruti and not its dealers.
Carmakers at times set a limit on discounts their dealers offer to prevent price wars among them, but Indian law says the practice, described as “resale price maintenance”, is prohibited if it adversely impacts competition.’
Stock Covered in the news
