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Delivery firms cleared in price collusion probe in India

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Probe started in 2022 after complaint including against

DHL, UPS

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Final order to be follow review by top antitrust officials

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - An Indian antitrust

investigation has concluded there was no price collusion between

the domestic units of delivery companies DHL, United

Parcel Service ( UPS ) and FedEx ( FDX ), according to three

sources and a document seen by Reuters.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered an

investigation in 2022 into more than a dozen delivery companies

for alleged collusion on discounts and tariffs and had reviewed

thousands of emails to investigate the fees companies charged

for airport services, Reuters reported in January.

The case was filed by the Federation of Indian Publishers,

which complained that global companies, along with many domestic

firms, were deciding charges together and controlling customer

discounts, but no details of the case have been made public in

line with the watchdog's rules.

Reuters was first to report the probe's findings on Friday.

The CCI's findings said the companies did not share

"commercially sensitive information amongst themselves,"

according to the report seen by Reuters.

"On investigation no evidence came to the forefront," the

report noted.

"The allegations levelled by the informant could not be

substantiated," it added.

The investigation was completed in July and a report shared

with all parties in late October, according to one of the

sources with direct knowledge.

DHL, UPS and FedEx ( FDX ) did not respond to a request for comment.

The CCI also did not respond.

The findings will come as a relief to the logistics

industry, which has faced scrutiny from 2015, when France levied

a $735 million fine on 20 companies, including FedEx ( FDX ) and DHL,

for secretly colluding to increase prices.

The report is due to be reviewed by top CCI officials, which

can then issue a final order clearing the companies if they

agree with the findings.

The complainant, the Federation of Indian Publishers, which

also did not respond to a request for comment, can challenge the

findings before senior officials.

The group had alleged that some companies set a fuel

surcharge of 17% to 22%, citing rising prices, but did not cut

them when those prices eased during travel curbs during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

The CCI report concluded that the companies during the

pandemic faced an increase in operational costs due to factors

"well beyond their control" and levied a "COVID/Emergency/Peak

Surcharge", but "this was not done in a concerted manner" and

did not violate antitrust laws, the report said.