Volume-based discounts not against antitrust law, heavy-handed enforcement won’t help India amid rising protectionism: Supreme Court
“Competition law is not designed to humble the successful” and “heavy-handed enforcement” of regulatory policies “divorced from market effects” will not help India’s bid to emerge as a manufacturing hub for the world, the Supreme Court has cautioned.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Justice P B Varale said this in its judgment on Tuesday while affirming an April 2, 2014, order of the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) which set aside a Competition Commission of India (CCI) finding that volume-based discounts offered by borosilicate glass tubing maker Schott India amounted to discriminatory pricing and abuse of the company’s dominant position in the market.
Justice Vikram Nath, writing for the bench, said, “Competition law is not designed to humble the successful or to clip the wings...