TEAM HERALD
NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday threatened to prosecute the Chemists and Druggists Association of Goa (CDAG) for defaulting in payment of the penalty slapped in June 2012 for violation of the Competition Act.
The association was defaulted for preventing supply of medicines and other pharmaceutical items to the chemists who are not its members as also for preventing discounts to customers by any chemist.
Releasing a list of all defaulters who have not paid the penalties despite no appeal or appeal having been dismissed, the commission warned that it may ask the Income Tax Department to initiate the recovery from them.
The list of defaulters include the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AOCD), which was slapped a penalty of Rs 1.47 crore for preventing the pharmaceutical firms from supplying medicines to the chemists not registered with it. The Goa association was fined Rs 1.02 lakh on a complaint made by Varca Drugs and Chemists to the MRTP Commission which was subsequently transferred to the CCI. The firm had challenged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by AIOCD and CDAG with the pharmaceutical companies prohibiting the latter from appointing stockists and retailers in Goa without the ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) of CDAG and mandating them to give supplies only to the CDAG members.
In its order issued on June 11, 2012, the CCI had imposed a penalty of Rs 1.02 lakh on CDAG while directing it not to limit nor control the number of stockists nor prohibit supplies to the retailers who are not its members. The CCI also faulted the Goa association for preventing and restricting the retailers from allowing discounts to the consumers as contravening Section 3(3)(a) of the Competition Act.
