The Competition Commission of India has imposed a penalty of ₹27.38 Cr ($3 Mn) on chipmaking giant Intel for allegedly abusing its dominance in the boxed microprocessors (BMP) market in the country. The fine was imposed on the company for violating Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 over unfavourable warranty policies in the country. As per the complaint, Intel amended its warranty policy for India in April 2016. Under the new regime, warranty on BMPs was only eligible if the product had been purchased from an authorised Indian distributor of Intel products. As a result of the policy, customers who had bought Intel BMPs from authorised dealers in other countries were denied warranty benefits in India. Based on the complaint and the subsequent investigation, the antitrust watchdog held that Intel abused its dominant position in the Indian BMP market by engaging in discriminatory warranty practices. The CCI order added that such a policy did not exist in Intel’s other markets like China and Australia. Additionally, CCI held that the warranty policy “limited the choice of consumers” and caused an adverse effect on Indian users. “The Commission also found the aforesaid policy to have limited the choice of consumers and… Read MoreInc42 Media
