December 06, 2012 / 21:48 IST
A Parliamentary panel said fair trade regulator CCI should be "more prompt" in taking decisions on issues of price cartelisation and rigging. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, in its report on Corporate Affairs Ministry, bserved that the Competition Commission of India has been taking long time in making decisions. The regulator, which keeps a tab on anti-competitive practices in the market, which has linkage with the Corporate Affairs Ministry.
"... CCI has been taking unduly long time in arriving at their decisions. They are, therefore, of the view that CCI should be more prompt while deciding issues of price cartelisation and price rigging, resulting in faster disposal of cases," said the panel, headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. The report was tabled in the Lok Sabha. The panel had sought details regarding the Commission's decisions related to alleged cartelisation in onion market, cement and airlines sectors. The regulator did not find evidence of cartelisation in onion and airlines issues.In the case of onion market, the Commission had suo motu taken up the issue of increase in prices, on January 6, 2011 and referred the matter to its Director General. "The Director General submitted his report on 10.04.2011 and the matter remained under the consideration of the Commission for almost a year before it gave its final order of closing down the case," the panel noted.On the issue of alleged concerted action by airlines to increase fares around the Diwali season of 2010, the Commission had taken suo motu notice. "While the Director General found no evidence of cartelisation among the airlines, the final order of the Commission was passed after more than a year in the month of January 2012, in which the Commission concluded that no case of cartelisation was made out against the airlines," the panel said. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
