On February 7, 2020, CCI dismissed a complaint by Mr. Makarand Anant Mhaskar (‘Mr. Mhaskar’) alleging that USV Private Limited (‘USV’) and its C&F agent, Kundan Pharmacon (‘Kundan’) have abused their dominant position under Section 4 of the Act[1]. Mr. Mhaskar is a wholesaler who had placed an order for purchase of drugs from USV/Kundan and confirmed the receipt of the order along with a demand draft and other documents.

Mr. Mhaskar alleged that USV imposed a number of unfair conditions upon him such as: (i) compelling him to collect the goods from the Pune carrying and forwarding (C&F) agent (Kundan); (ii) compelling him to pay the amount in advance; and (iii) precluding him from returning the goods for any reason whatsoever or from purchasing the goods from another C&F agent.

CCI observed that Kundan is merely a C&F agent and therefore for the analysis under Section 4 of the Act, USV is the relevant entity. CCI observed that while Mr. Mhaskar has claimed that USV is dominant in the relevant market, he has not substantiated the claim with evidence. CCI conducted its own analysis and concluded that USV did not enjoy a dominant position because: (i) Mr. Mhaskar  did not claim that the drugs are sold only by USV and no substitutes are available; and (ii) the market data collected by CCI suggested that a number of pharmaceutical companies have higher sales than USV. Accordingly, CCI dismissed the information.[1] Case No. 42 of 2019.