CCI Dismisses Complaint Against Shoppers Stop

By way of an order dated July 30, 2018, the CCI dismissed information received against Shoppers Stop Limited (‘SSL’) alleging a contravention of Section 3 of the Act and unfair trade practices.[1] The Informant was aggrieved by the requirement to meet a minimum purchase amount in order to successfully redeem a discount coupon issued on a previous purchase. It was further alleged that SSL failed to direct the Informant to a competent authority to address his grievance.

CCI held that the information was in the nature of an individual consumer dispute rather than a matter of competition concern and did not cause an adverse effect on competition. In arriving at its finding, CCI referred to its earlier decisions in Sanjeev Pandey v. Mahindra & Mahindra[2] and Subash Yadav v. Force Limited[3] in which it clarified that the scope of the Act is limited to curbing anti-competitive practices that have an adverse effect on competition, while the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 protects individual consumer interest against deficiencies in goods and services. On this basis, CCI held that the information did not make out a prima facie case against Shopper Stop and accordingly dismissed the information.

[1] Case No. 21 of 2018
[2] Case No. 17 of 2012
[3] Case No. 32 of 2012