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Global delivery firms to face cross-examination by book

publishers in India

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Antitrust probe found no wrongdoing, but allows more

scrutiny

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Publishers successfully argue investigation ignored

anomalies

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Top executives to face questions in coming weeks, sources

say

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Top India executives of

FedEx ( FDX ), UPS, Aramex and DHL are set to be cross-examined in

coming weeks by a book publishers' group which accused them of

price collusion, a new twist in an antitrust probe that cleared

the courier companies of wrongdoing last year, a document shows.

Allowing a complainant to interrogate companies is not

common in Indian antitrust cases. It means the final findings of

the antitrust investigation could change and create new

challenges for the courier majors, and the case will be

prolonged by several months, antitrust lawyers and government

sources said.

Many foreign and domestic companies are bullish about the

Indian courier and parcel delivery market, which is expected to

grow 11% a year to $14.3 billion by 2030, bolstered by a boom in

online shopping, research firm Mordor Intelligence says.

In December, Reuters reported the Competition Commission of

India (CCI) found "no evidence" of courier firms sharing

commercial information amongst themselves. The 2022 cartel case,

whose details remain confidential in line with rules, was

triggered when the Federation of Indian Publishers alleged

collusion on prices and discounts by delivery firms.

The CCI has now found merit in a complaint by the

publishers' group which argued it must be allowed to

cross-examine the delivery company executives as investigators

only relied on oral submissions to give the companies a clean

chit.

The federation "has demonstrated sufficient cause

establishing necessity and expediency of conducting such

cross-examination," the CCI noted in a May 28 internal order

that was reviewed by Reuters.

The order said the executives to be questioned were

Subhasish Chakraborty, Managing Director of India's DTDC

Express; R.S. Subramanian, Managing Director of DHL Express

India; Suvendu Choudhury, a vice president of FedEx ( FDX ) in India;

Percy Avari, general manager of Aramex in India, and Abbas

Panju, India managing director of UPS Express.

None of the executives responded to requests for

comment.

DHL said in a statement it operates in full

compliance with all laws and is "cooperating fully with the

CCI", but could not comment on specifics.

The CCI, as well as other companies - DTDC, U.S.-based FedEx ( FDX )

and UPS, and Dubai's Aramex did not

respond to Reuters queries.

The Federation of Indian Publishers also did not respond. It

represents many Indian publishers like S.Chand and Rupa

Publications, as well as some foreign groups like Pan Macmillan.

'RARE' CROSS-EXAMINATION

Sending the case back to the CCI investigators could become

an irritant for the logistics industry, which has faced scrutiny

since 2015, when France levied a $735 million fine on 20

companies, including FedEx ( FDX ) and DHL, for secretly colluding to

increase prices.

In India, cross-examination of companies by the complainant

"is rare," said Gautam Shahi, a competition law partner at

Indian law firm Dua Associates.

"Such cross-examination may reveal new facts and the

conclusions of the earlier investigation report may come into

question. It may change the direction of the case," he said.

The CCI investigations unit will now oversee the

cross-examination proceedings in coming weeks and submit a

report to top antitrust officials for a review, four sources

familiar with the matter said.

The Federation of Indian Publishers had alleged that courier

companies acted together to determine charges, and also did not

reduce the fuel surcharge they charged when jet fuel prices

dropped.

The 202-page investigation report shared with the companies

privately last year, and seen by Reuters this week, notes that

36 notices were sent to 15 courier firms during 2023-24 to

gather details of their businesses, with UPS submitting the most

responses - 13.

The CCI report concludes no email correspondence surfaced

that showed "any collusive/concerted activities" among rivals.

The Federation of Indian Publishers has also successfully

argued it wants to point out several anomalies in the earlier

recorded statements of company executives, which were ignored by

investigators, noted the CCI order that allowed the

cross-examination.