Finding the Hub and the Spoke of Cartels: Mapping the Indian Experience

Abstract

As per the Competition Act 2002 (hereinafter called the Act), cartel is defined in terms of an agreement amongst competitors, operating at the same level of a commercial activity. Such horizontal agreements leading to anti-competitive practices are proscribed under the Act. The Act does not deal with the hub and the spoke of a cartel as there was a lack of urgency vis-à-vis such cartels. It has only been in the recent past, that the Competition Commission of India (hereinafter called the CCI) took note of hub and spoke cartels in the Indian market. Consequently, the Competition Law Review Committee (hereinafter called CLRC) in its Report of July 2019 has made recommendations pertaining to hub and spoke cartels. As a consequence, the 2023 Amendment to the Act has incorporated provision pertaining to hub and spoke cartels. The present article maps the Indian experience on the hub and spoke cartels. The primary argument of the author is that the legislative framework within the Act is inadequate to deal with hub and spoke cartels. Hence a comprehensive re-vision is needed.