Competition Commission of India: Rejects Plea for Sanctions Against DLF’s New project

Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed an appeal seeking anti-dominance sanctions against a new project of real estate major DLF Ltd, saying it will not entertain any such plea merely on the basis of penalties imposed on the company’s Belaire housing project.

Anti Competitive Practices..!

After finding DLF Ltd to have abused its dominant position with respect to its Belaire project at Gurgaon in national capital region, CCI had fined DLF Ltd in August 2011 & had asked it to ‘cease and desist’ from anti-competitive practices.

CCI had passed the order after investigating into complaints filed by the project’s flat buyer association, which has now filed a petition before the fair trade regulator to seek similar sanctions against a new DLF Ltd project, SkyCourt.

However, the fair trade regulator CCI has ruled that “The question regarding terms & conditions of agreement of the other projects that may be launched by DLF Ltd in Gurgaon was never before the Commission. Therefore, an application in respect of terms & conditions of other projects can not be entertained,” CCI said in an order &rejected the application.

In its application regarding new projects of the firm, the Belaire Owner’s Association had alleged that DLF Ltd was still violating the CCI orders “by imposing similar terms & conditions on buyers in the agreement with regard to a new project namely SkyCourt launched by DLF Ltd in Gurgaon.”

Such terms & conditions had already been held anti-competitive by the CCI in its orders dated August 12, 2011 and August 29, 2011, the applicant had said.

The 2 orders were passed with regard to the firm’s Belaire, Park Place and Magnolia projects and included a penalty of Rs. 630 crore against DLF Ltd, besides other sanctions.

Modify terms of Flat Buyers Agreement..!

The CCI order against DLF Ltd, which also asked it to “suitably” modify terms of its flat buyers agreement for the concerned project, was later challenged by the company before the Competition Appellate Tribunal ( COMPAT).

After COMPAT’s directions, CCI modified the buyers agreement for Belaire project on January 3, 2013 and later said that the same modifications would apply to Park Place and Magnolia projects as well

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