Fair-trade regulator CCI has dismissed a complaint alleging abuse of dominant position made against Skoda Auto India, saying there is no competition issue involved in the matter.
Apart from Skoda Auto India, the complaint filed by Tamil Nadu-based Akhil R Bhansali, was also against the firm's Chief Executive Officer Bernhard Maier, according to a CCI order dated October 3.
Noting that the allegations of the complainant do not give rise to any competition concerns, the watchdog said that no prima facie case of contravention of the provisions of Section 4 of the Competition Act is made out against Skoda Auto India and Maier.
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Section 4 pertains to abuse of dominant market position.
As per CCI, Bhansali had alleged abuse of dominant position by Skoda Auto India and Maier for limiting and restricting provision of services by appointing only limited number of dealers and making spare parts available only at select and exclusive dealership, among others.
The watchdog said that the primary grievance of the complainant relates to the quality of service being provided by Gurudev Motors, Skoda Auto India's authorised dealer in Chennai.
"The allegations in the instant matter appear to be a case of deficiency in after sales services by the authorised dealer of OP-1 (Skoda Auto India) at Chennai which is a case of an individual consumer dispute and there is no competition issue involved in the matter," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said.
The watchdog also noted that similar issues have arisen in various other cases before it wherein it has been observed that the consumer disputes such as deficiency in services would fall under the Consumer Protection Act.
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