Competition Commission of India eyes Jet-Kingfisher Alliance, investigates DTH operators

The Competition Commission of India is set to take on Jet & Kingfisher as their code sharing agreement comes under the scrutiny of the CCI. A complaint has been filed before the CCI by a frequent flier who alleges that the alliance would lead to the formation of a cartel.

Consumer Online Foundation (COF) has also filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to ensure that DTH operators provide inter-operable set up boxes.  COF is accusing DTH service providers of violating Article 7 of the DTH Broadcasting Guidelines by not providing consumers with inter-operable set-top boxes as mandated by the TRAI. Tata Sky, Dish TV, Reliance Big TV and Sun Direct have been made parties to the complaint.

Since its inception in May 2009, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been closely monitoring corporate agreements and business practices that might violate the Competition Act. K.K Sharma, formerly the Legal Advisor to the Commission, has recently been promoted to the post of Director General and has been asked to look into allegations of anti-competitive practices. He is currently investigating, among other complaints, the practices of the airline industry, the settlement between multiplex owners and the producers association, and the inter-operability of direct-to-home (DTH) set top boxes.

Mr. Sharma, speaking to Bar & Bench, confirmed that he is currently investigating the above cases and hopes to submit his report before the end of September 2009. He declined to reveal the details of the complaints, but confirmed that the CCI is not investigating these matters suo moto.

Competition Commission set to take on Jet & Kingfisher as their code sharing agreement comes under the scrutiny of the CCI

The alliance between Jet Airways and Kingfisher was announced in October 2008, and includes code-sharing on domestic and international flights and cost-cutting measures such as joint fuel management and cross-utilisation of crew. The complaint has been filed before the CCI by a frequent flier who alleges that the alliance would lead to the formation of a cartel.

Joseph Pookatt’s Consumer Online Foundation takes DTH operators to the Competition Commission on inter-operable set top boxes

Consumer Online Foundation (COF) has filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to ensure that DTH operators provide inter-operable set up boxes.  COF is accusing DTH service providers of violating Article 7 of the DTH Broadcasting Guidelines by not providing consumers with inter-operable set-top boxes as mandated by the TRAI. Tata Sky, Dish TV, Reliance Big TV and Sun Direct have been made parties to the complaint, since they are the dominant enterprises controlling more than 80 per cent of the market for DTH services in India.

COF is a Trust formed to ensure that modern technologies and communication media are used to serve the greater common good. Joseph Pookatt, Partner at APJ-SLG and the complainant, is the Honorary Chairman of the Foundation. The Foundation is being represented by Gautam Shahi of APJ-SLG. Talking to Bar & Bench, Mr. Shahi said that the complaint has been filed because “The current setup completely blocks the choice of the consumer if he/she wants to switch over to other competing DTH Service Providers. In other words, the choices available to the existing consumers of a particular DTH Service Provider are restricted and he is prevented from enjoying the benefits of a competitive market.”

The tie-in of DTH services with set-top boxes could be violative Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002. The CCI, under Section 27 of Competition Act, may also penalise DTH operators 10 per cent of the revenues earned for the last 3 financial years.