The case concerning alleged cartel collusion among logistics companies has been returned for further investigation at the request of the plaintiff, the Federation of Indian Publishers.
The top executives of India's FedEx, UPS, Aramex and DHL will face cross-examination in the coming weeks after a group of book publishers accused them of price collusion, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. This marks a new development in an antitrust investigation that cleared the courier companies of any wrongdoing last year.
Allowing a complainant to question company executives is uncommon in Indian antitrust cases. Legal experts and government sources told Reuters that this could potentially change the final outcome of the probe and prolong the case by several months.
The Indian courier and parcel delivery market is projected to grow by11% annually to reach $14.3 billion by 2030, driven by a surge in online shopping, according to Mordor Intelligence.
In December, Reuters reported that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had found “no evidence” of courier companies sharing commercial information. The case, filed in 2022, was based on allegations by the Federation of Indian Publishers that the firms colluded on prices and discounts.
The CCI has now agreed with the publishers’ request to cross-examine company officials, noting that investigators had only relied on oral submissions to clear the companies. In a May 28 internal order reviewed by Reuters, the commission said the federation “has demonstrated sufficient cause establishing necessity and expediency” for such questioning.
Executives set to be questioned include Subhasish Chakraborty, Managing Director of DTDC Express; R.S. Subramanian, Managing Director of DHL Express India; Suvendu Choudhury, Vice President of FedEx in India; Percy Avari, General Manager of Aramex in India; and Abbas Panju, Managing Director of UPS Express in India.
None of these executives responded to Reuters requests for comment. DHL said it operates in full compliance with laws and is “cooperating fully with the CCI” but did not comment on the details of the case. The CCI, DTDC, FedEx, UPS, Aramex and the publishers’ federation did not respond to Reuters queries.
The Federation of Indian Publishers represents major Indian publishers such as S. Chand and Rupa Publications, along with foreign companies like Pan Macmillan.
Sending the case back to CCI investigators for fresh scrutiny could prove challenging for the logistics sector. Globally, the industry has faced similar issues, in 2015, France fined 20 companies, including FedEx and DHL, $735 million for price collusion.
The CCI’s investigations unit will handle the cross-examination in the coming weeks before submitting a new report to senior officials, Reuters sources said.
The publishers’ group has accused the courier companies of jointly deciding charges and failing to reduce fuel surcharges when jet fuel prices fell. The 202-page investigation report from last year, reviewed by Reuters, shows that 36 notices were sent to 15 courier firms, with UPS providing the most responses.
The CCI report concluded there was no email evidence of collusion among the companies. However, the publishers’ group argued that there were inconsistencies in the executives’ earlier statements which investigators overlooked. This argument was part of the reason the CCI granted permission for the cross-examination.
Source: India Today
