Competition Commission Rejects Complaints Against GAIL

New Delhi: Fair trade regulator CCI has dismissed two different complaints which alleged that

state-owned GAIL indulged in anti-competitive practices with respect to sale of gas.

Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals (GSFC) and Paharpur-3P, a division of Paharpur Cooling

Towers — both of which have gas sale agreement with GAIL — had lodged the complaints last

year.

It was alleged that the public sector enterprise imposed certain “unfair and discriminatory

conditions” under the gas sale agreements.

In two separate orders, passed earlier this month, the Competition Commission of India (CCI)

decided to reject the complaints made against GAIL.

The watchdog has said all the allegations point to the possibilities of several conducts of GAIL

that would be unfair but nothing has been brought through the information on record which

could suggest that the entity had in fact indulged in any conduct that is culpable under Section 4

of the Act.

Section 4 of the Competition Act pertains to abuse of dominant position.

“It is observed that mere possibilities under an agreement entered into prior to the enforcement of

the Act cannot be a subject matter of examination under Section 4 of the Act,” CCI has said in

two separate but similarly-worded orders.

The gas sale agreements, pertaining to which the complaints were filed, were inked before the

Competition Act came into force in 2009.

An earlier complaint by GSFC against GAIL had also been rejected by the regulator.

NGS INDIA