CCI rules no abuse by Intel of position

Fair trade watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ruled that there was no abuse by Intel of its dominant position, in the microprocessors market, bringing down the curtain on an almost three-year old case.

In what comes as a relief for Intel, the (CCI) concluded that it had "not restricted and limited the market by foreclosing the distribution network to its competitors," PTI reported.

According to the ruling, Intel did not deny access to its competitors in the microprocessor market nor had it "imposed supplementary conditions or leveraged its dominant position in the market of high-demand products in the market for low-demand products.''

"Since no case is made out against Intel, either under the provisions...of the (Competition) Act, the matter relating to this information is disposed of accordingly and the proceedings are closed forthwith," the CCI noted, according to the report.

The case had been filed by Esys Information Technologies, a non-exclusive independent distributor for designated Intel products in India, against the US-based company and Hong Kong-based Intel Semiconductor and Intel Technology India.

The company had further alleged that Intel imposed anti-competitive agreements and indulged in unfair pricing practices, thereby denying market access.

The complaint against Intel and the two related entities was filed with the CCI in August 2011, and the probe was ordered in December that year. The investigation arm of the watchdog director general -- submitted its report in June 2013.

The allegation against the company was that it abused its dominant position in the market of microprocessors, used mostly in mobiles and computer devices.

According to the commission, even though Intel was a dominant enterprise in the market for desktop PCs, mobiles and servers, the company's alleged conduct was not abusive in terms of any of the provisions of the Competition Act.

"...the alleged pricing policy of Intel does not amount to secondary line price discrimination and has not resulted in foreclosure of any of its downstream customers," the order said.

The order went on to add that the allegation regarding charging of unfair and discriminatory prices by Intel in violation of competition norms did not stand established, it added.