Title - CCI dismisses charges of abuse of dominant position by Railways and ConCor

New Delhi: The anti-trust watchdog Competition Commission of India has ruled that Indian Railways (IR) and the state-owned Container Corporation (ConCor) of India did not abuse their dominant position in the freight services segment in a 2006 case.Out of six members, two – SN Dhingra and ML Tayal – dissented on the ruling.Kribhco Rail Infrastructure Limited (KRIL), a co-operative undertaking, and Arshiya Rail Infrastructure Limited (ARIL), a logistics infrastructure company, had moved the commission alleging that the IR and ConCor work as a group entity and indulge in exclusionary price discrimination and unfair trade practices. This, they alleged, amounted to an abuse of their dominant position. The commission said in its order “that in the relevant (freight services) market, neither Indian Railways nor ConCor is dominant”. The order added that it is also “legally not valid to treat Indian Railways and ConCor as group entity” and therefore, there is no abuse of dominant position by the two entities.
The commission, however, observed that allegations of frequent changes in haulage charges by the Indian Railways raise “some concerns on the larger issue of policy design for incentivising private participation”. It recommended the Railway ministry to look into the matter if such changes act as disincentives in the market.