On August 30, 2018, CCI dismissed allegations of abuse of dominance against the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Haryana (‘DAFW’) with respect to qualification criteria provided by DAFW for the bidders in its tenders.[1]Mr. G. P. Konar filed the information before CCI against DAFW alleging that DAFW had abused its dominant position by putting unfair qualifying requirements in its tender floated in the month of April 2018 for outsourcing of soil testing, data entry on portal and printing of cards services under the Soil Health Card (‘SHC’) scheme of the Government of India. As per the information, the Government had provided that all the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (‘NABL Laboratories’) would be eligible for participation in the tender. However, DAFW through the impugned requirements had essentially restricted eligibility to only those NABL Laboratories that could inter alia, (a) provide data entry services as well as printing services for SHCs, alongside soil testing services (without outsourcing); and (b) were not involved in any legal disputes with any Government in relation to a similar business activity. CCI initiated its assessment by clarifying that DAFW was an ‘enterprise’ for the purposes of the Act that was active in the ‘market for provision of soil testing services in the Territory of India’. However, CCI observed that DAFW did not enjoy any dominance in the concerned market, even though it was the implementing authority under the SHC scheme simply because numerous enterprises in the agriculture sector procured soil testing services and any service provider could switch between such procurers. In the absence of dominance, CCI did not assess the allegations of abuse of dominance. Lastly, CCI reiterated that it is the procurer’s prerogative to determine tender conditions as per its requirements.[1] Mr. G. P. Konar v. Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Haryana, Case No. 22 of 2018 (Order dated August 30, 2018)