Under section 3 of the Competition Act, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is probing an allegation that state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) are indulging in cartelisation on fuel pricing.
According to some media reports, these state-run OMCs may get notice from the panel on the allegation.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board earlier received a complaint from the private sector retailers Essar Oil, Reliance Industries and Shell.
The private retailers had sought direction against the PSUs to desist them from indulging in predatory pricing of transportation fuel and indulging in restrictive trade practices. They also sought reprieve from monopolistic practise or cartelling in any sale of petroleum products.
The commission is studying the case suo moto and during the initial probe, it found that there was a case to investigate if the companies were indulging in a cartel-like behaviour.
Earlier, CCI had written to the Petroleum Ministry on the issue. However, the ministry had said that it did not have a role in fixing petrol prices as it was a deregulated product.
The retail market for fuel products like diesel, domestic LPG, and kerosene is a near-monopoly of the three state-run OMCs —Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation — as they sell at a government-controlled price.
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